Commercialised, curious, sometimes raucous: USA 94 was a joy to attend

As a skint 23-year-old I did two weeks in the US. It remains a personal favourite tournament 32 years later

You never forget your first World Cup, and the tournament’s return to American shores this year will stir vivid memories for anyone who attended USA 94. It was a curious and distinctive tournament, one that heralded the World Cup’s more expansive, commercialised future, while also seeming a world away from the jamboree that returns 32 years later, twice as big and at least twice as lucrative.

I managed to do two weeks of it as a skint 23-year-old earning £9,000 a year, alongside my mate Paddy, a student. We took in only two games – both goalless draws – but soaked up enough of the occasionally raucous, often tepid, atmosphere for it to remain a personal favourite World Cup all these years on.