This footy-loving father-son duo made their dreams come true by travelling around Europe to watch England play in the Euros.
Matt Nadin decided that he wanted to treat his son, Freddie, to a trip to remember with the final destination being England’s opening game against Serbia at the 2024 Euros.
As Freddie would be missing a couple of days from school, Matt decided to make the trip across the five countries educational and the pair visited several historic landmarks along the way.
The football fanatics made their 1,200-mile trip through England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and lastly Luxembourg before they travelled back home in time for school.
Upon reaching Germany, Matt and Freddie soaked up the footy atmosphere and they joined in with the football-inspired festivities.
Matt says that Freddie loved playing football with the fans, from all over Europe, and that they sang with the England fans all night long.
Matt, from Sheffield, UK, said: “I decided to take Freddie to watch England play in the Euros against Serbia.
“However, because I was taking him out of school for a couple of days, I also wanted to make it educational.”
“He’s recently been doing lessons around World War II and D-day so we visited some bunkers in Northern France, we then drove to Bruges as I wanted to soak up the culture of the historic Belgian town.
“After this, we drove into Holland and then into Germany, where we spent the next few days.”
Freddie spent his travels playing keepy uppies with people from all over Europe and was even one of the youngest supporters at the England game.
Matt said: “All the England fans absolutely loved the fact he was there celebrating with them!
“It was an experience I don’t think he will ever forget singing with the England fans at night, playing football with people from all over Europe in the day and then finally making our way into the ground to watch England win one nil.”
After the match, Matt and Freddie continued to drive through Germany and into Luxembourg, checking out all the historic places the countries had to offer.
They explored secret tunnels hidden under the cities and stopped in the beautiful Northern French city, Lille, before heading back on the ferry to their home turf.
The duo made many core memories on their travels such as seeing the Three Lions defeat Serbia by one goal to nil, starting their Euros tournament off with a bang.
Freddie even got to meet former England manager, Fabio Capello, after the tournament.
Matt added: “Freddie shocked me as he had a full conversation with Fabio Capello, even though he knew he was an ex-England manager – it didn’t phase him.
“He did himself proud with his ball knowledge and held his own in the conversation.”
Matt said: “You’d think an eight-year-old would moan about the distance travelled. But Freddie was interested in everything to do with the trip.
“He loves seeing different countries and trying different food so the trip constantly kept him entertained.”
The family’s love for football dated back to when Matt’s dad and grandad took him to his first in the 1980s and he has been hooked since- in which Freddie is following in his footsteps with.
Matt said: “He has been going to watch our team Sheffield Wednesday for the last few years and has already been a mascot going out onto the pitch.
“He’s had an amazing video message from Jack Grealish supporting him, so I thought the perfect gift for him would be to take him to the euros.”
Freddie really has secured his title as a football superfan!