LONDON - England football fans will be facing a enormous bill of 6,400 pounds each to watch manager Fabio Capello’s team play in this summer’s World Cup in South Africa, which kicks off on June 12.Currently, the best price for a return ticket to Johannesburg is 1,527 pounds, while inland flights between England’s group venues of Rustenberg, Durban and Cape Town will cost an extra 827 pounds, while many hotel rooms come in at 400 pounds a night.
Virgin Money calculates that England fans will spend at least 6,399 pounds each in flights, accommodation and food during the tournament.
England Football Supporters’ Federation official Kevin Miles said that he has been in Johannesburg to witness the growing rip-offs first hand.
“This smacks of pure greed. Prices here are becoming more an issue than fears over security. I am very disappointed. The South Africans seem more interested in cashing in now than showcasing their country with a view to attracting people back in the future,” The Sun quoted Miles, as saying.
“The fact is the credit crunch is still full-on. People are totting things up and coming to the conclusion they can fund a Caribbean holiday and watch England’s European Championship qualifiers, and still have change in their pockets compared to the cost of coming to the World Cup,” he added.
He further said that though South Africa is usually a decent-priced holiday location, but the same rules do not apply to the World Cup.
“We’re looking at the cost of getting here, accommodation, expensive internal flights, problematical travel to and from games, safety issues and funding for the six days between each group game if you’re staying on,” Miles said.
“It will also be winter in South Africa so we are not talking about the complete holiday experience here,” he added.