FIFA World Cup: London Calling Texas brings vintage soccer threads to the metroplex

RICHARDSON, Texas - Plenty of English soccer fans will head to North Texas this June for their World Cup match against Croatia, but one fan who already calls Dallas home has turned his passion for the sport into a business.

London Calling Texas

Local perspective:

London Calling Texas is a clothing store in Richardson. It offers a wide variety of soccer merchandise, from vintage World Cup memorabilia to jerseys from teams across the globe.

The owner, Tom Boyce, even sells some of his own original designs. His deep knowledge of the English national team helps him curate the store's selection.

"You can see the Three Lions just constantly in the fabric, I just loved it. Honestly, growing up just the essence of just proper British, English, you know," Boyce said.

He and his wife have called North Texas home for the past 11 years. His wife inspired him to turn his passion into a business when she overhead him and a friend reminiscing on football memories at a wedding.

He says it's taken many years to grow his collection into what it is today. "It's searching the internet a lot, talking to the right people, getting lucky, like thrift stores."

The store is located within Crossbar, a soccer-centric bar that has its own fields to play on. The bar will host World Cup watch parties this summer.

Three Lions from birth

Boyce grew up in East London and has been a fan of England's national soccer team, known as the Three Lions, for as long as he can remember.

The first jersey he remembers buying was a 1996 Three Lions jersey, and his love for the team has survived even through the heartbreak.

"So, Paul Gascoigne is a famous English player. He basically got two yellow cards to the point where he got banned for the semifinals," Boyce explained about one of the store's replica jerseys. "And cried on the field, it's a very famous thing for England."

But that past heartbreak doesn't mean he's not confident heading into this summer's tournament.

"This is our year. This is our year, like we said before about the Cowboys, right? It's very similar to that, where we know it's not going to happen, but you've got to believe, right?"

Boyce will be in attendance on June 17 when England takes on Croatia in a group stage match at Dallas Stadium.

"I think Dallas is gonna be surprised of how intense we are," Boyce said of England fans' passion. "I don't think Dallas truly is going to appreciate or understand how ingrained this sport is into us."

England soccer in North Texas

Dig deeper:

FOX 4's Amelia Jones has been covering England's national team as they prepare to come to North Texas this summer for a match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

She's previously talked to Andy Milne, known internationally as "That World Cup Guy," who is selling his second home to fund a trip to Dallas to see England play in June.

"English fans really like to throw themselves into, you know, whatever city, whatever country we’re in. So, we’re really looking forward to coming to Dallas. We’ve heard a lot about the food. Looking forward to that. Looking forward to my brisket and my TexMex and my frozen margaritas," he said.