The World Cup is nearly here! With less than a week until kick off it's time to start rehearsing your rendition of ‘Three Lions’ and stocking up on viewing essentials. However, as we all know, times are extra tough at the moment so any way we can enjoy the tournament and save a little cash are definitely welcome.
This World Cup football fans are set to spend £2bn on food, drink, souvenirs, sportswear and more as they cheer on England in pubs and at home, according to VoucherCodes World Cup 2022 Spending Report. With this being the first World Cup to take place in the winter, and with the cost-of-living crisis stretching Brits’ spare cash, many fans will be watching from home - meaning a big boost for retailers (£1.6bn).
Both England and Wales have qualified for the World Cup this year and so will be competing head to head for the trophy. We’ve listed all the England and Wales group matches below so you don’t miss out on anything!
England vs. Iran - 21st November at 1pm on BBC One
Wales vs. USA - 21st November at 7pm on ITV
Wales vs. Iran - 25th November at 10am on BBC One
England vs. USA - 25th November at 7pm on ITV
England vs. Wales - 29th November at 7pm on BBC One
The Final - 18th December
Get the big screen for less
With the World Cup being held in winter, many of us will choose to watch the matches from home instead of braving the chill in a pub beer garden. In fact, 26.5 million of us will watch a match at home over the course of the tournament. The good news is all of the matches are being held on either ITV or BBC One so they’re free to watch!
Whilst many of us will be saving the pounds where we can, die hard football fans might want to upgrade their TV set-up in preparation for the big match. This might be investing in a new TV altogether, or adding some extra speakers for that live-action feeling. If you’re thinking of splashing out on some new tech, you won’t be on your own as £318 million is expected to be spent across the UK on TV electricals during the tournament.
To help you find your dream TV without breaking the bank, we’ve put together some expert tips to give you a hand.
Research
Before spending a single penny, the first thing to do is some research and have a think about what you actually need from a TV. Do you need it to be the highest spec or can you settle for a slightly lower resolution model? Can you compromise for a slightly smaller and cheaper option, instead of a cinema-size TV?
Once you’ve decided what you need you can open up your trusty laptop and get Googling.
Check for reviews on sites such as PCMag and Which? and other tech sites to make sure you’re getting the best rated TV within your budget. You can then head out to the shops with a list of exactly what you want and how much you’re willing to pay.
Buy last year's model
Brand new models are always going to be the most expensive option. By switching to last year's model you can make a big saving and it’s a really easy compromise to make as you’ll still be getting a quality TV but at a fraction of the cost. Older model TVs are often heavily discounted when a new version is released, so if you keep an eye out for new TV releases as this can be a great time to buy the older version.
Good warranty
Not only should you research what TV you want, but you should research the warranty too. Some retailers offer five year warranties as standard, but some you have to pay extra for a longer warranty. With tech it’s always worth getting a long warranty as you never know if it’s going to glitch, and the last thing you want is it breaking down the day before the final!
By making sure you have a good warranty you’re protected should the worst happen, and if it does break you’ve just saved yourself the cost of a whole new TV.
Shop around
A golden rule of shopping is to shop around before you buy. A really easy way to do this is using the ‘shopping’ tab on Google. All you need to do is search the model and it’ll come up with all the retailers currently selling the item and the cost, so you can quickly and easily see where to get the best deal.
Take advantage of Black Friday
This year the World Cup is conveniently taking place at the same time as the Black Friday sales. This is a great time to buy new tech as many retailers discount their products heavily.
Make sure you’ve done your research ahead of the day so when Black Friday starts, you’re ready to strike and nab yourself the TV of your dreams. You should also keep an eye out in the days leading up to Black Friday as many retailers now start their Black Friday promotions around a week early.
Feed the crowds on a budget
One of the best parts of any international football competition is gathering all your family and friends together to watch the match. With the cost-of-living crisis squeezing our budgets, 26.5 million Brits’ will be watching the tournament from home instead of heading out to their local pub - this means many hungry mouths to feed at half time. As a result, a whopping £1.03bn will be spent on food and drink throughout the tournament.
Here are some top tips for feeding hungry fans on a budget.
Check for deals
If you’re looking to save on food for the big game, the first thing to do is check for deals and discounts at your local supermarket. In the run up to big sporting events, like the World Cup, supermarkets often offer deals such as 2 for 1 or Buy-One-Get-One-Free. These are an easy way to stock up on a lot of food for a low price. Or, if you see a great deal over the next couple of weeks, grab it quickly and pop it in the freezer for when it’s needed.
Think about what you cook
It’s always nice to have fancy food when you have guests round, but unfortunately this can come at a premium. Luckily, it’s tradition that when you watch football you have cheap and easy grub in hand.
When planning your menu, think carefully about what to pick. Some dishes will be considerably more expensive to make than others for example, despite being a football classic, a meat pie will be much more pricey to cook up than a veggie chilli, or pasta bake.
Fakeaways are always a good shout and are much cheaper than ordering the real thing. You could make a chinese sweet and sour chicken, a tasty curry, fish and chips or even burgers from scratch.
Host a potluck
Another easy way to keep costs down is to organise a potluck. This is where each guest brings a dish for the table and then everyone sits down together and shares the food. If you’re hosting for a large group of people it can be very expensive to cook for everyone, but this way the costs are split evenly between everyone involved. You could also make a game out of it and suggest that all attendees bring a football inspired dish.
Budget takeaways
If cooking is just out of your league, then make the most of supermarket takeaway options. Most have pizzas for as little as £1 or you could go all out on a takeaway meal kit. The cost may be a little more than making it all completely from scratch, but it’ll be considerably less than ordering a takeaway.
However, if a takeaway is calling you make sure you check around for deals and discounts first. Sign up to all the apps, such as Deliveroo, UberEats, and JustEat as they’ll often send you discount codes straight to your inbox. You should also consider ordering directly from the restaurant. When ordering direct, you can save on delivery costs and can often get a discount as the restaurant doesn’t have to pay a third-party.
Check for discount codes
Finally, we have to say it, check VoucherCodes for deals on takeaways and groceries. There’s often deals on big brands such as Domino’s, Papa Johns, Tesco and more so it’s always worth a look.
Save on refreshments
We Brits love a cheeky drink or two, so it’s no surprise that over the course of the World Cup tournament fans are expected to buy 65.3 million pints as they cheer on England. However, with the price of pints rising by the minute and reports of £7 pints sweeping the nation, it’s time to have a think about where to get your halftime refreshments without spending a fortune.
Buy in bulk
Football and beer go hand in hand so you better stock up before the game. To get the cheapest drinks, buy in bulk. An 18 pack of Peroni costs just £3.88 per litre, however a four pack costs over £1 more at £4.93 per litre.
Wine clubs
Another place to pick up cheap booze is wine clubs. Despite being called ‘wine clubs’ almost all sell beer too and at pretty reasonable prices. However, the best thing about them is that they often have great deals on offer. For example, Laithwaites is currently offering £50 off first orders over £120, and Virgin Wines is offering £50 off first orders with no minimum spend.
Going out
Watching the football at home will always be cheaper than a trip to the pub but if England manage to go all the way (fingers crossed!) you might find yourself drawn to some freshly poured pints and a crowd. During the tournament, 20 million people will head to pubs, bars and other hospitality venues spending £395 million on food and drink.
Though you can’t cut the cost completely, there are ways to keep it down.
Look for deals
During football tournaments there are often deals on food and drinks, and with the tournament being so close to Christmas there are bound to be more than usual. Before you pick you football destination, have a look at the venues website and social media to see if there are any deals or discounts on offer.
Avoid rounds and stick to your budget
Before you head to the pub, set yourself a firm budget that you can afford. If you know you often break your budgets, take out the amount in cash first and leave your cards at home so you can’t overspend. Another easy way to break your budget is to get involved in rounds. It can be tempting to just go with the flow when your with friends and buy each other rounds, but it’s really easy to loose track of how much you’re spending. Opt out of the rounds and just buy for yourself as its much easier to choose cheaper drinks and limit the amount you’re drinking.
Merch
This World Cup Brits’ are forecast to spend a whopping £61.3 million on souvenirs, it’s not surprising as souvenirs and merch are part of the World Cup fun. With England shirts, sticker books and more there’s loads of ways to remember the tournament and show your love of the game.
Shop around
You might think that no matter where you shop all World Cup merch costs the same, but surprisingly this isn’t true. Different retailers are selling the same products for different prices so always make sure you have a look around before clicking ‘buy’. For example, the Rihla World Cup Pro football, at the time of writing, is selling for £130 on the Adidas site, however on Sports Direct it can be found for £105.
If your budget can’t quite stretch that far, you could invest in the classic Panini stickers. At Sainsburys these can be found for £6.99 for a pack of eight, but at WHSmith you can find a pack of nine for £4.99!
Take advantage of offers
When you’re shopping around, you should also see if the store has any offers available. For instance, when you sign up to the Adidas newsletter you can get 20% off your first shop. Some other stores also offer freebies like Sports Direct. There you can find free personalisation on a range of England football shirts and boots so you’ll look like a pro.
Sportswear savings
As well as investing in some souvenirs for the World Cup, you might feel the need to splash out on some sportswear too, and you won’t be on your own, this World Cup it’s expected that £197 million will be spent on sportswear. Maybe you’ve seen Jack Grealish score the winning goal and fancy a shirt with his name, or perhaps you just want to give football a try yourself. Either way, there are some easy and quick ways to bag yourself some sportswear for less.
Outlets
Outlets are a great way to pick up your favourite brands for a fraction of retail cost, such as Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Asics, New Balance and more. There’s loads of outlet malls to choose from up and down the country, for example if you live in the South there’s Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, in the Midlands, there’s Bicester Village and in the North, there’s Cheshire Oaks. It might just be worth making the trip for the big discounts on offer.
If you can’t head out in person then try looking online. Adidas has a part of their site dedicated to their outlet store and if you’re in the market for some new kicks, then check out Offcuts (Office’s outlet site).
Sales and discounts
When you’re looking for new sportswear, make sure you head to the sale section first. This will make sure you at least take a look at the cheaper discounted products before heading to the full-priced section of the site.
You should also check for discount codes or bonus rewards too as you could score a big saving, for example, at the time of writing, with VoucherCodes you can currently get 30% off Adidas, 25% off Reebok, and a £5 voucher when you spend £50 at Decathlon. Some of our codes and rewards can even be used on top of sale items so you can save even more!
High street options
Most of us head straight for our favourite sportswear brand when looking for new gear, however, why not try your local high street brand first. Big brands such as Primark, Marks & Spencer, and PrettyLittleThing sell sportswear at really low prices. For example, at Primark you can find a pair of leggings for just £10, and a sports top for just £12.
And finally, the decorations
No World Cup watch party would be complete without some decorations to show England your support. To give you a helping hand, below are some simple tricks to getting decorations for less.
Make your own
Making you own decorations can be a really fun and cheap way to get in the football spirit and you can get the kids involved too! Here’s some simple ideas:
- Make England banners by cutting out letters and shapes from white and red card
- Use old bed sheets to make white and red bunting
- Blow up some white balloons and colour on black hexagons to make football balloons
- Print out a football player and play pin the ball on the boot
Shop supermarkets
Before the World Cup supermarkets stock up on World Cup essentials such as decorations, souvenirs and even Panini stickers. These items can be found pretty cheaply, for example, ASDA are currently selling World Cup bunting for £2 a pack, England flags for £1.50, and even an England World Cup party bundle for just £3.
The benefit of shopping at supermarkets is that you can also use loyalty points to get a discount off your purchase. Most supermarkets have a loyalty scheme so if you’re already signed up, it’s worth having a look at how many points you’ve bagged and how much you could get off your World Cup decorations.
To see all of VoucherCodes' best World Cup discounts check out our page below
