Garford Beck can follow the Three Lions all the way to this summer’s World Cup final…..for the princely sum of £356.88. The $60 seats for the eight games, currently £44.61 each, are a reward for his loyalty.
England ‘superfan’ Garford Beck can follow the Three Lions all the way to this summer’s World Cup final…..for the princely sum of £356.88. The $60 seats for the eight games, currently £44.61 each, are a reward for his loyalty to the cause. His enviable England record stretches back to his first ever game against old foes Scotland in February 1972. Just nine years old, he was there with his dad Bill. It began a love affair which has endured for more than half a century.
The USA will be Garford’s 8th World Cup following England across continents, to Qatar, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Japan and France. He has attended hundreds of matches in countries across the globe, rarely missing a game since 1980. And that means he has become a ‘Top Capper’.
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They are members of England Supporters Travel club who earn the most caps by dint of their attendance at home and away games.
Garford’s loyalty was recognised with the offer of $60 tickets for the eight games which England need to win to become world champions for the first time since 1966. Dad-of-one Garford, a civil servant who lives in London, said: “I have applied for the $60 dollar tickets for every game and have been told that I will get them. “Obviously, I will need to get time off work and it will be a long time away if you include the two friendlies before the tournament. You are right in the Gods with the cheapest tickets. But you will be with fans who are paying $4,185 (£3,110) for their seats in the final.”
Only 600 of the 30,000 members have $60 tickets for the final in the USA. Garford admits that he does not feel the same level of anticipation and excitement for this summer’s tournament, adding: “I have spoken to other fans who feel the same way.
“I believe that the fans are being ripped off, and so you feel complicit.”
Garford is also manager of the England fans team which has played against teams from other competing nations before big tournaments, including games against France and Australia in Qatar. He added: “I have seen the teams of every England manager since Sir Alf Ramsey, including Joe Mercer, Don Revie, Ron Greenwood. I will never forget that first game more than 50 years ago. It was half term during the national power strikes. “It was meant to be a 7.30pm kick off but they had to play it in the afternoon. Mike Channon scored twice in a 2-2 draw, Kevin Keegan was playing, and Jock Stein, Matt Busby and Sir Alf Ramsey were there. I have had some great memories with England.”
Garford has chosen his all-time favourite England XI for the Mirror. Peter Shilton got the nod just ahead of Gordon Banks in goal, ‘Captain Fantastic’ Bryan Robson wears the arm band and Gazza and Chris Waddle take their places in a nod to the epic run to the semi-final at Italia ’90. Garford added: “It was very difficult to leave out Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst. When I made my full England ‘debut’, 29th April 1972, the European Championship, quarter-final first leg, home to West Germany, their best days were behind them and Sir Alf had already begun the transition. “Shilts had made his senior debut in 1970. Sadly, of course, Banks was to lose an eye in a devastating car crash just a few months later which prematurely ended his top-flight career. It was very difficult to leave out Keegan because you felt, as a supporter, that playing for England meant so much to him. “My long list of substitutions is a mixture of those players I felt shared Keegan’s sense of duty pulling on the Three Lions shirt and those who I feel didn’t receive the number of caps, or recognition their undoubted talents deserved. “Harry Kane makes it because he’s a goal machine, Jordan Pickford makes it on the bench because, although he has his detractors, for me, he never lets England down and, like KK, you get the sense that playing for his country means so much to him. “Leaving out Bobby Moore, though, was the most difficult decision, for obvious reasons, but, as Roy Keane might say, “as the manager, that’s your job”. His dream England management team, as a lifelong Derby County supporter, would be Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, ably assisted by Jimmy Gordon.
England are set to be in the top ten of the best supported nations at the world cup, despite the controversy over ticket prices. More than half a billion ticket requests were submitted during the Random Selection Draw ticket sales phase, which ended on Tuesday.
The host countries United States, Mexico and Canada topped the league of nations in terms of demand – but the highest number of applications apart from the hosts came from fans in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “On behalf of FIFA, I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this extraordinary response.
“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums.
“That is why we are committed to creating multiple ways for fans to be part of the world cup, through a wide range of fan experiences beyond the stadiums, both in person and online, so that as many people as possible can share in what will be the biggest sporting event ever staged.”
