FAQ - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

❓ Why don’t Total Football Experience tours include flights?

At Total Football Experience, we specialise in fully custom soccer tours to England for youth soccer teams from the USA and Canada — and that includes giving you total control over your travel. Rather than including flights in our packages, we allow each team to book their own flights. This gives you the freedom to choose your own travel dates, select the most convenient departure and arrival airports, and manage costs based on your group’s needs. Since we're based in the UK, booking flights on your behalf would involve additional international taxes and surcharges, making your trip more expensive. That’s why it’s more flexible and cost-effective for teams to organise their own air travel.

✈️ Need help finding the best flights? No problem — we’re happy to assist with flight suggestions and planning support upon request.

❓ Does everyone on the soccer tour need to travel together?

Yes, but there are exceptions, but in most cases, youth soccer teams travelling to England or Europe for a tour will arrive and depart together, especially when flights are booked early through an airline’s group booking department. This approach makes the logistics much smoother, particularly for airport transfers once your team lands in the UK or Europe.

Even though Total Football Experience does not include flights in our packages, once your travel dates and flight times are confirmed, we’ll arrange your airport pick-up at an agreed time as we can only pick up once. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 If any families or coaches arrive earlier or later, we’re happy to share hotel details so they can book a room at the same location and meet the rest of the group or organise a meeting place on the way to the hotel or activity.

❓ Are coach transfers and tour representatives included in the soccer tour?

Yes — during your soccer tour to England, your group will have access to a private executive coach for all scheduled airport transfers, matches, training sessions, stadium tours, and excursions listed in your confirmed itinerary. From the moment you arrive at your designated UK airport, a Total Football Experience representative will be with your group every step of the way, right through to your return drop-off at the end of the tour. In most cases, your tour reps will be me, Ritchie (TFE Founder), and my son (Airan), ensuring a personal, friendly, and hands-on experience throughout your stay.

We’re with you not just as organisers, but as hosts, available on the ground to manage logistics, answer questions, and make sure your tour runs smoothly from start to finish.

❓ Is there a minimum or maximum group size for a soccer tour to England?

To keep your soccer tour as cost-effective as possible, we generally recommend a group size of 45–50 people, including players, coaches, and family members. This helps with share the overall tour price within budget. That said, Total Football Experience is all about flexibility. We can cater for smaller or larger groups, and we’ll always work with you to design a tour that meets your team’s size and budget.

⚽ Bringing multiple teams from the same club? No problem. Each team will be treated as a separate tour, with custom scheduling to ensure smooth logistics. The overall itinerary can be similar, but matches, training, and activities may be arranged on different days.

🏨 Wherever possible, we’ll ensure that all families and teams are accommodated in the same hotel to keep the group experience unified.

❓ Do all players need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian on the soccer tour?

Yes — for youth/junior soccer tours, all players must travel with either a parent, legal guardian, chaperone, or be under the direct supervision of a coach or team official. Most hotels in the UK and Europe do not permit children to stay alone or in rooms with other unsupervised minors. To comply with local accommodation policies and ensure the safety and well-being of every participant, each player must be assigned a responsible adult who agrees to take responsibility for them during the tour.

✅ Whether it's a parent, guardian, or coach, it’s essential that all players are appropriately supervised throughout their international soccer experience.

❓ Is the cost the same for all travellers — players, coaches, parents, and siblings?

Yes — on a Total Football Experience soccer tours, the price is the same for all participants, whether you're a player, coach, parent, or sibling. Everyone takes part in the full tour experience, with the only exception being that only players participate in the competitive matches and training sessions. So, to keep things simple, fair, and easy to manage, we calculate the total cost of the tour and then average it out across all travellers, so everyone pays the same price.

❓ What’s included in the price of a soccer tour to England?

Each Total Football Experience soccer tour to England is fully customized — we work closely with the Director of Coaching (DOC), Head Coach, and team organizer to build a tailored itinerary that fits your team’s goals, schedule, and budget. Once your itinerary is finalized, we’ll provide a clear breakdown of what’s included in the total tour price. This typically covers:

Hotel accommodation and Breakfast
Ground transportation and airport transfers on a private coach
A UEFA-qualified training sessions
3 Competitive matches vs similar standard opposition
2 Premier League Stadium Tours
A Matchday Experience
Sightseeing excursions
TFE Rep 24/7

You’ll receive a detailed summary of what is and isn’t included before any deposit payment is taken, ensuring full transparency from the very start.

❓ When the itinerary says “Watch a Match,” does that mean attending a live game or watching on TV?

It means attending a live professional football match in person — not watching on TV.

Once your soccer tour dates are confirmed, we’ll do everything we can to arrange tickets to the highest-profile matches available, subject to:

Fixture schedules
Ticket availability
Stadium location relative to your tour base

⚽ For England Soccer Tour:

The cost of any match ticket (not on the itinerary) and transportation to the stadium is not included by default, unless specifically requested in advance
Matches included in the itinerary, once tickets are confirmed, we can add the price to your tour package and arrange coach transfers to the match

⚽ For Spain & Portugal Soccer Tours:

Spanish and Portuguese fixture dates are only confirmed about 10 days in advance, so we recommend that you purchase tickets directly from the club
We can assist by arranging transportation to the stadium, but ticket costs are handled separately

Watching a Premier League, La Liga, Primera or UEFA match live is often one of the most memorable moments of any youth soccer tour, and we’ll help make it happen whenever possible.

❓ What are the payment terms, deposit requirements, and refund policy for the soccer tour?

Once your soccer tour dates and itinerary to England (or Europe) are agreed, we ask that you first secure your flights, and then submit the tour deposit.

💳 Deposit Amount & Payment Terms:

A non-refundable deposit of $100–$250 per person will be required by an agreed date
This deposit is used to reserve key elements of your tour itinerary (e.g. hotels, training sessions, matches, stadium visits)
The remaining tour balance is due no later than 6 weeks prior to arrival

🧾 How payment is collected:

One designated Tour Manager/Organizer from your team/club will collect all payments from players, parents, and coaches
That person will then pay Total Football Experience via bank transfer in line with the agreed deposit and final payment dates

🏨 Room List & FREE Place:

The same Tour Manager/Organizer will be responsible for compiling a room list for hotel bookings
As a thank you, they will receive one free place on the tour (stay only, not flights)

I will provide you will an Excel Spreadsheet template to use as you Hotel Room List. Hotel rooms in the UK are much smaller than in North America and have different configurations, each hotel is different but most hotels have the following rooms available;

Twin – Two Single Beds for two people

Double – One Double Bed for two people

Triple/Family - One Double Bed and One Sofa bed (sometimes a Single bed) for three people

* A small amount of hotels have Quad/Family - One Double Bed and One Sofa bed and a Single bed (sometimes two Single beds) for four people

* Actual room configurations will be confirmed when the hotels agree availability

* I can request rooms next to, or near each other for larger families but hotels will not guarantee this but rest assured they definitely know

All of this will be clearly outlined in a detailed Proforma Invoice, ensuring transparency and clarity from day one.

❓ What type of hotels do you use on your soccer tours to England?

At Total Football Experience, we carefully select all hotels used during your soccer tour to England, with a strong focus on location, comfort, safety, and convenience for players, coaches, and families. We typically choose well-reviewed 3* or higher hotels in areas that allow easy access to both football activities and sightseeing:

🏛️Manchester: We often use hotels located next to the Trafford Centre, one of the largest shopping malls in the UK — offering plenty of dining, shopping, and entertainment options just steps away.
🏛️Chester: We prefer hotels within walking distance of the historic Roman city centre, so your group can enjoy local culture and architecture during downtime.
🏛️ London: Whenever possible, we use centrally located hotels to ensure you’re close to major attractions like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the London Eye. Even when staying slightly outside the centre, London’s Underground and bus networks are fast, efficient, and affordable — making it easy to explore the city.

All accommodation is booked with group travel in mind, ensuring your players, coaches, and parents are comfortable and well-located throughout the tour.

❓ Can we add more people to the tour after the final balance payment deadline?

We understand that plans can change, and occasionally additional players, parents, or family members may want to join the tour after the original deposit deadline. While we encourage all participants to commit before the agreed deposit deadline, we will always try to accommodate late additions subject to hotel availability. If someone drops out before the final payment deadline, we can often reallocate their room to a new traveller. However, NO new additions can be made once the final tour balance has been paid, as all bookings will be confirmed and finalised by that point.

We’ll always do our best to support changes where possible, but please keep in mind that space is limited and rooms fill up quickly, especially during peak travel seasons and we have our own payment deadlines to meet..

❓ How are the competitive matches arranged, and how do you determine the age group and playing level?

On your custom soccer tour to England, we carefully match your team against competitive local opposition to ensure each game stretches and challenges your players appropriately. We’ll discuss the age group, playing level, and overall standard of your team in detail with the Director of Coaching (DOC) or Head Coach. From there, we’ll use our trusted network to arrange fixtures with teams at a comparable or slightly higher level, whether that's academy, pre-academy, or grassroots sides.

⚠️ Please note: While we confirm fixtures, usually well in advance, things can occasionally change. Matches against Premier League or EFL Academies are in high demand and may occasionally be cancelled at short notice due to internal priorities, even as late as a week before the scheduled date. Although rare, we believe in being upfront about this possibility. In such cases, we always do our best to arrange a high-quality replacement fixture to ensure your team still gets a valuable and competitive experience.

📣 Marketing & Communication Materials for Your Soccer Tour

To help you promote and coordinate your soccer tour to England, we offer a variety of resources to make communication with parents and players as smooth as possible:

🗂️ Finalised Itinerary

Once your tour itinerary is confirmed, you’re welcome to email it out to all players, parents, and coaches. 📊 On request, I can also create a personalised presentation that highlights the key details of your tour, ideal for club meetings, info sessions, or email blasts.

❓ Q&A Document

A clear, easy-to-read FAQ document (like this one) can be sent to families in advance to answer the most common questions — covering everything from flights and payments to hotels and matchday experiences.

📱 Follow Us on Social Media

Encourage your tour participants to follow Total Football Experience on social media to see real-time updates, behind-the-scenes footage, and highlight reels from other teams on tour.

🔗 https://www.tiktok.com/@totalfootballexperience

🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@TotalFootballExperienceTours/shorts

🔗 https://www.instagram.com/totalfootballexperiencetours/?hl=en

🌐 Website: www.totalfootballexperience.com

📧 Direct Questions

If there’s anything not covered here, feel free to contact me directly at 📩 ritchie@totalfootballexperience.com

I’ll be happy to answer any specific questions and I’ll continue updating this FAQ document based on feedback from teams like yours.

🧾 After Deposit: Group Management Tools

Once your initial tour deposit is paid, please start collecting the following information on an Excel spreadsheet:

Names of all travellers
Email addresses
Cell / mobile numbers

This helps me send out regular email updates. After the final payment has been taken I will create a GroupMe or WhatsApp group for quick communication, last-minute questions and during the tour.