Scots among fans receiving most US travel approvals ahead of World Cup despite cost

Scots are among the fans receiving the most travel authorisations for the US than any other nationality ahead of the World Cup next month, despite the continued concerns over the cost of attending the tournament.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the UK accounted for more than 1.2 million Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta) approvals between October last year and April – well ahead of France, Germany and Japan.

It is unclear whether the high number of approvals will correlate with the support England and Scotland will receive at the World Cup as many matches are yet to sell out following fan backlash over ticket prices.

CBP said it had received more than 5.9 million Esta applications overall from eligible nations during the seven-month period, approving more than five million of them.

The United States will host 78 matches during the tournament and expects more than five million visitors.

Fifa has adopted a dynamic pricing strategy for ticket sales, with prices fluctuating according to demand.

US President Donald Trump was previously asked about tickets for the first game being in four figures by the New York Post and said: “I wouldn’t pay that either.”

Lifelong England fan Gary Scammell said the scale and expense of the tournament had forced supporters to rethink their plans.

He told the Press Association: “Never in my wildest dreams would we have gone down the same route had we have known the ticket prices were going to be that.

“Then obviously the vast size of America, Mexico and Canada – you obviously have to have a different approach to, say, what we did in Germany, where we were doing day trips, overnighters and coming home the following morning.

“It’s obviously a hell of a lot more money than it would normally be and normally we wouldn’t justify it – but because my dad’s 80 and because this will probably be his last World Cup, we thought ‘we’ll sell a leg each’.”

Another England supporter, Billy Grant, said the financial burden appeared to be affecting demand among travelling fans.

“I think we’re undersubscribed in areas, which is such a shame,” he said.

“With England following anywhere normally, you could have hundreds of thousands of England fans all across the country having the most wonderful festive time.”

CBP executive director Matthew Davies said officials were “proactively preparing” for the competition to ensure “a safe and efficient welcome for all visitors”.

He added: “When travellers plan ahead and use tools like our trusted traveller programmes and mobile passport control, it helps us uphold border security, protect US agriculture and ensure a seamless and efficient traveller experience