Father spends 15,000 dollars on daughter's World Cup trip

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Chinese football fan Yuan Xun took his daughter Yuan Shuting, who is a huge fan of Uruguay's striker Edinson Cavani, to Rostov for the FIFA World Cup Group A game between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. In the ten days they have planned in Russia, Yuan Xun will spend around 15,000 US dollars, which is equivalent to over 100,000 yuan.

"We did this for my daughter's hobby. You cannot buy happiness with money. It's worth it," said Yuan Shu to Tencent Sports.

Yuan Shu applied for leave to accompany his daughter on the trip from Hangzhou to Russia and watched only one game. Yuan Shuting returned home from the US a week ago for summer vocation before departing again for Russia. "It was exhausting. But all the pain was gone the moment I saw Cavani," said Yuan Shuting.

Edison Cavani, Yuan Shuting's football idol /VCG Photo

On Tuesday, one day before the game between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, Yuan Shuting went to the hotel where Uruguay's players stayed and asked the team staff to deliver her gift, a hand-made scarf to Cavani. Team staff did not refuse.

This is not the first time Yuan Shuting has prepared gifts for her idol. She previously asked one of her friends to bring some postcards with her drawings to Cavani. When asked if they ever reached Cavani, the little girl said: "Of course he did, and he was so happy. My friend shot videos for me."

Yuan Shuting fell in love with Uruguay's super striker Diego Forlan at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The love then expanded for the whole team and finally to Cavani. She had Cavani's full name and Uruguay's national flag drawn on her cheeks before the game. When she was in the Rostov Stadium watching her favorite in the field, Yuan Shuting said she could not be happier.

Luis Suarez of Uruguay celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group A match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia at Rostov Arena on June 20, 2018 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. /VCG Photo

To support his daughter, Yuan Xun also wore a Uruguay jersey. "But I am more of a fan of the Netherlands. It was pretty long time ago, back in the 80s, 90s." He also took Yuan Shuting to the US to watch the Copa America Centenario in 2016 so she could see Cavani and Uruguay.

However, Yuan Shuting said they would not go to watch Uruguay's last game against Russia in Group A. "We will spend two or three days in Moscow before heading back home. Fans of the host country (Russia) could get too excited about the game. We probably should not go."