I delayed buying a new laptop so I could afford my first World Cup trip

Worchihan Zingkhai grew up in a village in Manipur where football was everywhere despite scarce equipment. He remembers staying up until 3 a.m. to watch his first World Cup on a single black-and-white TV, when the village pooled money for generator fuel. He has watched every World Cup on television and followed teams like Portugal and the Premier League, but attending a match in person always felt out of reach.

Getting to the US will take him far from home. From his village he will drive about six hours to Imphal, then fly to New Delhi, London, Washington, DC, and finally Atlanta — four flights and roughly 27 hours in the air. His trip has been made possible in part by his wife’s family: his father-in-law covered flights from New Delhi to Washington, and his in-laws are helping with accommodations.

Even with that help, Zingkhai has had to reprioritize spending. As a content creator, he had planned to buy a laptop for video editing priced between $2,200 and $2,500, but chose to delay that purchase.

India, Manipur

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