Portsmouth named the most expensive city to watch World Cup in the UK

Football fans in the city are set to spend 47.4 per cent of their wages watching the matches throughout the month-long tournament.

Residents are expected to splash an estimated £1,252 in pubs and shops across Portsmouth during the World Cup, according to a new study.

The Cost of the World Cup, which was carried out by Dot Dot Loans, gathered a range of data from across the UK including average price of beer, meals and replica shirts to reveal which cities are the best and worst value for residents when compared with average monthly pre-tax earnings.

With Portsmouth being named the most expensive city to watch Russia 2018 in the country - ahead of Leeds, Glasgow and Manchester.

While the research found Southampton will be one of the cheapest, with residents only set to splash an estimated 33.7 per cent of their wages watching the tournament.

The study also showed that with the money they are set to spend during the World Cup fans could instead afford three adult season tickets to watch Pompey or four annual passes to watch Premier League champions Manchester City.

For those who would consider spending their money away from football, the estimated average £1,252 fans are set to spend over the coming month could be used to buy more than eight years’ worth of Spotify premium or more than 11 years of Netflix.

Perhaps even more useful, you would be able to buy your monthly grocery shop for 18 months.

The World Cup kicks off on Thursday and will run until Sunday, July 15, with England’s first group game against Tunisia being played on Monday.