We're on the march with daddy's army: Euro 2004 is (for some fans) a family affair

As they enjoyed a late al-fresco breakfast beside their tent in a rather stunning woodland campsite yesterday, the Jones family presented a picture of contentment.

As they enjoyed a late al-fresco breakfast beside their tent in a rather stunning woodland campsite yesterday, the Jones family presented a picture of contentment.

It could have been a brochure scene taken anywhere in Brittany or Tuscany, but the group - spanning three generations - has selected a rather less conventional destination for their summer holiday: they have pitched up at Europe's biggest football tournament.

With a climate nearing perfection for the sun-seeking north European and boasting a veritable playground for the active, it seems Portugal is playing host to a new breed of football fan.

While the cobbled streets of the capital, Lisbon, will doubtless be thronged mostly by young men, fans' groups and travel experts say that the demographic of Euro 2004 is different to other tournaments. More English families than at any other international football tournament are using the event as the venue for their summer vacation.

Those policing the event hope this will act as a brake on some of the worst behaviour which has long been associated with English fans abroad. They believe the presence of more women and children, as well as some older fans, will act as a deterrent to violence.

From Britain alone, around 50,000 fans are expected to have arrived for the tournament's opening tomorrow. A further 200,000 will time their holidays on the Algarve or the Atlantic coastal resorts of Cascais and Estoril to coincide with the fortnight when England play their three group games.

Kevin Miles, international co-ordinator of the Government-endorsed Football Supporters Federation, said: "It's got all the ingredients of a family-friendly tournament compared to previous events.

"The last world cup in Japan was too expensive, for example. The last European championships were held in Holland and Belgium, which don't have the same cachet. The idea of leaving family members for the day in Brussels would not have appealed to many.

"The large family presence is on the increase. It is bound to happen in a holiday destination. It is a lot easier for the match-going member of the family to indulge him or herself by taking the family with them.''

The FSF says a longer-term trend is being fired by saturation media coverage of the domestic game, cheaper travel and the celebrity of players such as David Beckham and Michael Owen.

Many of these families have arrived in Portugal in recent days to have their hopes of picking up a ticket for an England game instantly scotched by touts' prices already up to £300. With less to spend at the turnstile, they seem happy instead to soak up a group game such as Switzerland versus Croatia for as little as £23 - and watch England matches on giant screens erected in Lisbon at the coastal site of Expo 98 and the beaches of the Algarve instead.

The Jones' holiday is a typical tale of how a vacation was prompted by football, but is unlikely to be doninated by it.

Barry Jones, a father of two from Chester, set the wheels in motion a year ago. His grown-up children Rob and Debbie decided at short notice that they could combine a passing interest in Euro 2004 with their passion for surfing and diving along the coastline, just north of the capital. Rob, a management consultant for Accenture, bought his daughter Sofia, aged 4, and Italian wife Bridget - whose family members boost the party's number to seven.

So far they have few complaints about the several hundred English, Swiss and French fans at the camp, although, with the site likely to be dominated by the more "traditional" young male fans as it fills over the weekend, that may change - despite a police patrol every 10 minutes.

Rob Jones said: "We heard that a lot of people were heading to the Algarve but we decided to come here because it has more to offer than just beaches and golf. I'm here as much for the kite surfing as for the football. We're even planning on going to a wolf sanctuary later.''

Travel companies yesterday reported strong bookings both for the core market offans and accompanying families.

Dermot Halpin, managing director of Expedia, said: "Portugal is always a very popular summer destination with our customers, but this year we've seen unprecedented demand. Add football to the sun, sea and sand and you've created - for many people - the perfect trip for the whole family."

Leon Shanahan, a spokesman for Dedicated Holidays, said 56 per cent of bookings for Portugal during Euro 2004 were with families or couples, with all-male crowds making up 35 per cent and five per cent of bookings comprising groups of women.

"It is a mixed crowd off to Portugal this year," Mr Shanahan said. "Certainly, there are all-male groups, but we have a couple of all-female groups going out. There are a good number of families - people like to combine the football with their summer holiday. We have also noticed families travelling together, I guess the fathers get together for the matches."

So can England's fans return home for a tournament for once without causing any seriousdisorder ? Debbie Jones, 30, a booker at a London modelling agency, certainly hopes so: "We have some conerns about hooliganism but there is no sign of that at the moment. It would be great to think that with more families here, any trouble becomes less likely.''