World Cup is on this Brit’s bucket list. So he and his brother are heading to KC
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- Robinson and his brother will stop overnight in Boston before reaching Kansas City.
- Robinson and his brother planned a KC itinerary including the National WWI Museum.
- Robinson expects large Scottish and English fan travel but notes cost may limit numbers.
Andy Robinson, who lives in rural England about 30 miles south of London, has a bucket list. At the top of that list: Go to a World Cup match.
He’s a month away from scratching that off his list when he and his brother board a plane for the United States — destination Kansas City, with an overnight stop in Boston first.
After researching the city online and consulting local residents on World Cup Facebook pages, they have built an itinerary that includes visiting the National WWI Museum and Memorial — and sipping “local ales” at John’s Big Deck downtown dive bar.
No surprise, “I can’t wait to try the barbecue,” Robinson told The Star. “We have booked a table for Jack Stack barbecue on our first lunchtime in KC. I cannot wait for that first lunchtime beer.”
Amid speculation and concern about whether World Cup attendance will meet expectations, this lifelong European football (soccer) fan has thoughts about his fellow fans traveling to the United States. Kansas City is one of 11 cities hosting matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.
At this point, he’s unsure how big a draw the matches will be for European fans.
“A lot of World Cups, you just don’t know until it happens,” Robinson said this week. “It is really hard to tell what the level of interest is. The World Cup talk hasn’t really started amongst fans yet as our domestic season is still going.
“However, I predict with 99% certainty that the entire Scottish nation will be traveling to America because Scotland does not usually qualify for major tournaments. They will be there in the thousands.
“England always has an extremely well-travelled fan base. So I expect there to be big England numbers. But maybe not as big as some are expecting, probably due to the cost of tickets, flights and accommodations.
“I think South American fans will still travel in the thousands as they are some of the most passionate fans out there. Some fans may also be put off with possible visa entry requirements.”
He predicts many of the soccer fans heading to Kansas City won’t be international visitors.
“I do think a significant proportion of your fan numbers will be domestic American fans,” he said. “Soccer is huge in America now. It has grown so much since I was a child. And the added bonus for KC is that it is a sports fanatical city, so you will undoubtedly have a huge surge in domestic fans heading from surrounding states for a road trip to KC. Well, I would if I was living over there.”
As a lifelong football (soccer) fan, Robinson and his two brothers inherited their devotion to Manchester United — one of the world’s most famous football clubs — from their father and have traveled around the United Kingdom and Europe to watch their matches.
Close to his home, he cheers for the Taunton Town Football Club known as the Peacocks, which has three weeks left in its 2025-26 season.
At 41, he’s still playing competitive soccer on the weekends with other lifelong fans of the sport. “We’re all football fans here,” he said.
He’s just not among the hardcore fans who spend “thousands and thousands of pounds” to travel around the world following England’s national team. But when he saw that Kansas City would be one of this year’s host cities, he started planning what he calls this “adventure.”
He chose Kansas City because he has already been to some of the other American host cities. He’s also experienced firsthand Midwestern hospitality and knew he would find it here.
He has visited friends in Springfield, Illinois several times and “ever since then I just love the Midwest’s hospitality, the friendliness, the people, the culture,” he said.
“I wanted to go back to the Midwest, and when I found out that Kansas City was on the list of host cities I thought ‘I’m going to save up and go there.”
The brothers fly into Boston on June 23, the same day England’s team plays Ghana in Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.
“That was just complete and utter luck and fluke that that happened so we’re hoping to watch the England game at a fan festival or bar in Boston before our flight the following day to Kansas City,” Robinson said. “We’re just going for five nights to the U.S.A. and then flying back.”
When they get to Kansas City on June 24 they’re heading first to the FIFA Fan Fest. They booked four nights at Home2 Suites by Hilton on Main Street for about $1,100.
Other than seeing the game, “we want to play golf, we’re looking to play nine-hole golf one morning, and just general exploring as well ... find a brewery, we like beer,” he said.
Though England is using Kansas City as its home base, it won’t play any games here. The brothers bought tickets to The Netherlands vs. Tunisia match at 6 p.m. June 25 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead (Kansas City) Stadium.
Price tag: About $1,300.
“I don’t expect to see huge numbers of England fans in KC, purely for the fact that England (is) not playing any games there,” he said. “However, I reckon there will be some loyal numbers who will follow the team to their base in KC.
“I have had messages from ex-Brits who currently live in KC who are saying there is a large following of English living in KC. It would be nice to meet up with some of them for a cuppa.
“As for other nations heading to KC. It’s hard to tell. You can’t fly direct from Europe, Africa or Asia, so that may put off these nations.
“However, I predict KC will be a sea of Argentina fans one minute, followed by a sea of orange Netherlands the next.”
Robinson expects Arrowhead to be full of Dutch fans because they are known to travel extensively to follow their team. But, “I think potentially the majority of the Kansas City visitors will be domestic ... a lot of ex-pats from other countries,” he said.
“The prices of tickets have been absolutely astronomical ... I think in general it’s going to be prices that maybe would cut people off. But again some fans, me as well, people find the money or they just put it on credit cards. You just don’t know.
“Because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity we just thought, ‘Ah, let’s just do it. We’ll just worry about it later.’”
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