England fan regifted £10,000 he spent to take grandad to World Cup

An England fan who used £10,000 of his life savings to take his grandad to the World Cup has been left stunned after a company inspired by his story gifted him the money back.

Jacob Allmendinger sacrificed the cash he had saved up for a house deposit to take Geoff Golliker, 80, on the trip of a lifetime in the USA and Mexico.

The 21-year-old had been taken to Hull City games by his grandad since he was a little boy and said he wanted to return the favour.

Jacob and Geoff have travelled to New York and Atlanta for the matches with Panama and DR Congo, as well as witnessing the historic 3-2 win at the Azteca Stadium against Mexico.

During their time abroad, the pair say they had been stopped in the street by people recognising them after their heartwarming story went viral.

Jacob was also contacted on social media by a US-based online crypto casino, Metawin, which vowed to pay back the money if England beat Panama by more than two goals.

When that didn’t happen, they took to X to tell followers they would do the same if England beat DR Congo – and Jacob was left stunned when they honoured the promise following the 2-1 win.

Jacob, from North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, said: ‘I was amazed, it was an incredible gesture really. They had contacted me on social media about the story and tweeted about paying the money back if we beat Panama by more than two goals.

‘When we only won 2-0 they said they would still pay £10,000 if we won against DR Congo by any score. I didn’t quite believe it, to be honest, until I looked at my bank and it was there. I was just in shock.

“I think I’ll save the money until I get back home. I’ll put it in a savings account for now and see what happens after the next couple of months.

‘We could go to the European Championships, I could buy a house, anything is possible. It’s just great to have options. We’ve had an amazing trip so far. We’re still in Mexico at the moment and flying tomorrow to Miami for the quarter-final.

He added: ‘The Mexico game was a once-in-a-generation game to watch. The parallels to now and 1966, when we last beat Mexico in the World Cup and then went on to win the whole thing, it kind of gets you giddy for the rest of the trip.”

Jacob said he had been bombarded with positive messages from people since this story made headlines.

He told the BBC: ‘I think it just resonates with people. I’ve had people reach out who have lost their grandparents and wish they’d done something similar. It just makes us cherish this time more, really.’

Geoff said: ‘We’re getting recognized quite a bit. When we were in New York, a guy came up to us and said, ‘are you the guys travelling round?’ It was brilliant.

‘The Mexican fans were absolutely fantastic. Very happy, very boisterous. The atmosphere that’s built up is fantastic.’

Speaking before their trip Jacob, who had saved for five years with the dream of one day owning a home, said: ‘I can always make money back, I’m at the age where I can afford to miss out on a house for two or three years.

‘But I won’t ever get to go to the World Cup with my grandad again. We get on like a house on fire. We’re more best mates than grandad and grandson.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@usnewsrank.com.

For more stories like this, check our news page.