PATTAYA, Thailand – Terry Burbidge shared his twin passions at the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) meeting on 28 October 2026. In his lively presentation, “Around the World in 80 Games”, Terry recalled how following the English football team overseas took him to more than 30 countries and over 80 matches between 1993 and 2013.
His passion for football lured him to familiar European cities and to destinations he might never otherwise have visited, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The adventures were rarely limited to 90 minutes inside a stadium.
Terry made each trip a holiday, exploring cities and meeting local people along the way. In Albania, travelling supporters visited a school with football shirts, equipment and balls for the children. In Portugal, England and Croatian fans swapped scarves and badges before enjoying a friendly kickabout.
One of his fondest memories came after a match in Eindhoven. Lost late at night on a country road, Terry knocked on the door of a stranger for directions. Instead, the resident brought out his car and drove him several kilometers to his hotel, refusing payment.
Not every experience was so reassuring. Terry encountered hooliganism in Marseille, hostile crowds in Russia and an intimidating police presence at several matches. He was robbed shortly after arriving in Durban and later broke a bone in his foot after stepping into a pothole in Kazakhstan—yet still hobbled around for another 48 hours.
There were lighter moments, too. In Amsterdam, Terry enjoyed a long football conversation with a stranger before realizing later that he had been speaking to former England player Alvin Martin. In Berlin, an enthusiastic encounter with large German beers produced a hotel-room story his travelling companion still enjoys retelling.
Terry’s football travels ended in 2013. After two decades, repeated fixtures and familiar destinations had begun to lose their novelty, while his move to Thailand in 2014 opened a new chapter. He has since attended an international match between Thailand and Vietnam in Bangkok.
During the audience discussion, Terry said football hooliganism had declined considerably since its worst years, although it had not disappeared. He believed only a tiny minority travelled with the intention of causing trouble, while others became involved because they failed to walk away.
Ultimately, the talk was less about scores and trophies than discovery, friendship and resilience. Football gave Terry a reason to cross borders; the people, places and unexpected adventures made the journeys unforgettable.
Following the presentations, MC Ren Lexander brought everyone up to date on upcoming Club events followed by the Open Forum portion of the meeting where questions are asked and comments made about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya. To learn more about the PCEC, visit their website at https:/pcec.club. A video of the presentation will be uploaded to the PCEC’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@pcecclub6255/videos.
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