Planning Your Soccer Tour to England
How Your TFE Soccer Tour Comes Together
Planning an international soccer tour can initially sound complicated, but the process does not need to be.
At Total Football Experience, we work directly with the team coach or organiser to gradually build the tour before anything needs to be presented to players and parents.
You do not need confirmed dates, flights, traveller numbers or deposits to start the conversation. A rough idea is enough.
The following is the suggested planning process for a TFE Soccer Tour to England.
1️⃣ TELL US ABOUT YOUR TEAM
The first step is simply to introduce your team.
We normally ask for some basic information such as:
• Club or organisation name
• Coach or organiser's name
• Team age group
• Boys, girls or mixed team
• Approximate playing level
• Approximate number of players
• Where you will be travelling from
• Best email address and contact number
There is no commitment at this stage. We are simply getting to know your group.
2️⃣ WE SEND YOU INFORMATION ABOUT TFE
Once we know a little about your team, we will send you information about Total Football Experience and a presentation showing what a typical soccer tour to England could include. This gives you an opportunity to see the type of experiences available before deciding what would work best for your team.
Tours can include:
⚽ Competitive matches
🎓 Professional training sessions
🏟️ Stadium tours
🎟️ Live professional matches
🥅 Matchday Experiences
🏙️ Sightseeing and excursions
🚌 Private executive coach transport
Every tour is different. The presentation is there to give you ideas, it is not a fixed itinerary.
3️⃣ TELL US YOUR PREFERRED DATES & TOUR IDEAS
You do not need exact travel dates at this stage. Something as simple as August 2027 or Spring Break 2028 is enough to begin. We will also ask what you would ideally like included in the tour.
For example:
• How many nights?
• How many matches?
• How many training sessions?
• Old Trafford, Anfield or Etihad Stadium Tours?
• Would you like to watch a professional match?
• Matchday Experience?
• London?
• Liverpool?
• Chester or North Wales?
• St George's Park?
• Any particular football experience or sightseeing request?
You can choose from our suggestions or give us completely different ideas.
YOUR TOUR IS BUILT AROUND YOUR TEAM.
4️⃣ WE BUILD YOUR PROPOSED ITINERARY
Using your ideas, TFE will put together a proposed itinerary. This is the stage where we can move things around, add experiences, remove activities and discuss different options. Nothing is fixed.
You might decide that you would prefer:
• Another competitive match instead of a stadium tour
• An additional training session
• More sightseeing time
• Fewer nights
• More time in Manchester
• A visit to London
• A professional women's match
• A completely different football experience
We continue adjusting the itinerary until everyone is happy with the proposed content.
📹 WE CAN ALSO ARRANGE A VIDEO CALL
At this stage, we can arrange an informal Zoom or WhatsApp video call.
This gives us an opportunity to:
• Meet each other
• Talk through the proposed tour
• Discuss your team
• Explain different options
• Answer any questions
• Discuss possible dates and flights
There is no obligation.
You will also be speaking directly with the people who will organise and accompany your tour in England.
5️⃣ RESEARCH YOUR FLIGHT OPTIONS
Once you are happy with the general itinerary, the next step is for the coach or organiser to research flights. Flights are not included within the TFE tour price. This gives your group the freedom to select the airline, route, departure airport and travel dates that work best for you.
We recommend researching several options. For a group booking, you can contact the airline's Group Travel or Group Booking Department and request a quote. You may find that an airline suggests travelling a day earlier or later because those dates offer better availability or significantly better value. That is why we recommend researching flights before we calculate the final tour price.
MANCHESTER OR LONDON?
If London is not part of your plans, flying directly into Manchester is often the simplest option. If you would like to include London, Heathrow can work particularly well, although travelling to and from London will usually add to the overall tour cost.
Open-jaw flights — arriving into one airport and departing from another — can also be worth investigating.
6️⃣ SEND TFE YOUR PREFERRED FLIGHT DATES
Once you have identified the flight option you would prefer, send us:
✈️ Arrival airport
📅 Arrival date
🕐 Flight arrival time
✈️ Departure airport
📅 Departure date
🕐 Approximate departure time
You do not need to book the flights at this stage. We simply need the preferred dates and timings. These allow us to build the tour accurately around your travel arrangements.
7️⃣ TFE CREATES THE FINAL ITINERARY & ACCURATE PRICE
Once we have your preferred flight dates, we can design the itinerary around them.
We can now accurately work out:
• Number of hotel nights
• Coach requirements
• Airport transfers
• Football activities
• Stadium visits
• Training sessions
• Match arrangements
• Sightseeing
• Other requested experiences
This allows us to provide a much more accurate per-person tour price.
If something makes the tour more expensive than expected, we can look at alternative options before anything is agreed.
8️⃣ WE CREATE YOUR TEAM PRESENTATION
Once the coach or organiser is happy with the Dates, Itinerary and Price, TFE can update the original presentation specifically for your group.
The presentation can include:
• Your proposed travel dates
• Day-by-day itinerary
• What is included
• Tour price
• Hotel information where available
• Football experiences
• Stadium visits
• Payment information
• TFE information and photographs
You now have something clear and professional to present to your players and parents.
THIS IS THE POINT WHEN WE RECOMMEND PRESENTING THE TOUR TO YOUR FAMILIES.
Rather than asking parents whether they are interested in an undefined trip, you can show them:
Where they are going.
What they will be doing.
When they will travel.
What is included.
What it will cost.
That makes it much easier for families to make an informed decision.
9️⃣ COLLECT INITIAL DEPOSITS
If the response from players and parents is positive, the coach or organiser can then set a deadline for initial deposits. There is no reason to collect deposits before you know whether there is enough interest. The organiser normally collects the individual deposits from the families and sends them to TFE as one group payment. Once sufficient numbers are confirmed and the agreed deposit has been received, we can begin securing the arrangements for your tour.
⚽ THEN THE REAL PLANNING BEGINS
From this point onwards, TFE works directly with your organiser as the tour develops. Hotels, football matches, training sessions, stadium visits, transport and other experiences are gradually confirmed as the departure date approaches.
We remain available throughout the process to answer questions and help your organiser communicate information to the travelling group. And when your team eventually arrives in England, Ritchie and Airan will be there to accompany your group throughout the tour.
💰 FUNDRAISING CAN HELP MAKE THE TOUR MORE ACHIEVABLE
Once you have a clearer idea of the itinerary and likely tour cost, this is also a good time to start thinking about fundraising.
Fundraising does not have to mean one large event. A combination of team activities, local business sponsorship, raffles and individual family fundraising over several months can make a significant difference to the amount each family ultimately needs to contribute.
We have put together a dedicated fundraising page with practical ideas, sponsorship examples and a real case study from a youth soccer team that raised a substantial amount towards its tour.
YOU DO NOT NEED EVERYTHING DECIDED TO START
One of the biggest misconceptions about organising a soccer tour is that you need confirmed traveller numbers, exact dates and deposits before contacting us. You don't.
To start the conversation, we really only need:
YOUR TEAM + A ROUGH DATE + SOME IDEAS
We can work through everything else together.
READY TO START PLANNING?
Tell us a little about your team and when you are considering travelling.
There is no obligation and you do not need confirmed dates or numbers.
LET'S START BUILDING YOUR SOCCER TOUR TO ENGLAND
📧 ritchie@totalfootballexperience.com