How does travelling the world with one of your best mates sound? If you have ever wondered this, you should ask George and Nick!
With both George (25) and Nick (26) coming from England, they have seemed to have found their footing in Blaine at Target USA CUP.
The two actually met here in Blaine back in 2016. Nick knew George’s dad from the previous year, and it wasn’t until a year later was when they met at USA CUP, even though they are both from England.
SO what’s the story between you two and why did you start travellling?
Nick: “We actually went to the World Cup last year with a couple of friends. We stayed with someone in Qatar who volunteers every year at USA CUP. When we were there, we were like ‘I think we should just travel the world at some point’ because we both had jobs where we just had to get out of them and go do something else.”
George: “I travelled last year as well. I spent three months travelling and it finished in Qatar with the World Cup. Nick and some other guys were there and I was just telling them how good it was and how I had planned to travels five more months this year. As I was telling Nick how good it was, he said “screw it” and decided to join in as well.”
What countries did you guys visit?
Nick: “Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, America, Canada, and George went to Mexico when I was visiting some friends in Utah from USA CUP.”
What are the top 3 locations you guys have visited?
George: “Tokyo, Mexico, and Nashville. Nashville was my favorite place we have been to in the States, it was very good. We like going out and doing the tourist stuff during the day, but we also enjoy going out in the evenings, meeting new people, and seeing the night life, that sort of thing. That was the thing with Nashville, bars everywhere, live music in every one, the food was really good, we meant to stay only 5 nights, but we extended it to 7.”
Nick: My top 3 would be be Tokyo, no doubt. It’s incredible. What a city, what a place. I’ll be going back to Japan at some point. I would have to agree with Nashville, there’s no two ways about it. Nashville is incredible and it was just on another level. If you like music, you need to visit. The other city for me would be Toronto, Canada. Toronto for me was just top drawer, and I wasn’t expecting it to be.”
Are we going to see you again in blaine next year?
George: “Yeah, 100%. Every year I come back, it gets better because the more people you meet, the more people you know, you just get really close with everybody here. We return not only because we love football, we we also really love the family aspect and want to see everyone.”
Nick: “This is my 7th and George’s 4th year here, and I can’t walk 5 minutes in one direction without either meeting someone I know or stopping and talking to them. Field managers, referees, field services, tournament HQ, you name it. Every single facet of this tournament is all one big family. For me that’s something really special and it says a lot about this tournament. We’ll see you all again in 2024! “
A huge thank you to Nick, George, and all of the referees at Target USA CUP! If you want to learn more about their adventures around the world, check out their podcast called “Couple of Pints Podcast” which can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Youtube (may contain adult language). We appreciate everything you do for the tournament and we can’t wait to see you again next year!