The account says Allen, Stuart Bates, David Arnold and the late Garry Hardwicke travelled to watch England’s matches. They were mainly Wolves supporters, with Arnold backing Birmingham City, and had set off during a period when jobs were scarce in the Midlands.
After England’s quarter-final defeat by Argentina, the group stayed on. They found work in Mexico before building new lives in the United States and Mexico. A short football journey had become a new chapter involving marriages, families and careers far from home.
Bates has described the friends from that trip as brothers. “The decision to stay eventually turned one adventure into a different life,” he said.
For Allen, the defining image remains Maradona’s first goal against England, followed by another in the same match. From inside the stadium, the handball controversy was impossible to miss, while the brilliance of Maradona’s second goal added another layer to a painful afternoon for English supporters.
That mixture of heartbreak and adventure is what gives the reunion its emotional weight. The friends did not simply witness a famous World Cup match; they carried its memory into entirely different lives.
The gathering is also expected to honour Hardwicke, whose journey began with a casual excuse to leave home and never return in the expected way. His story, and the group’s wider adventure, is the subject of a documentary titled *Lost Down Mexico Way*.
When England face Croatia in Dallas on 17 June, the result will dominate the football headlines. Yet before kick-off, another story will take centre stage: supporters reunited by England, Maradona and a trip that never really ended.