Singaporean fan makes once-in-a-lifetime World Cup trip after winning Lay’s competition

SINGAPORE – A routine trip to the supermarket reaped a big reward for Ng Chow Yong and his son Alistair in early June.

The father of two had intended to get some snacks for his daughter Beatrice’s 12th birthday party.

At the supermarket, Ng discovered a Fan of the Match contest by snack food brand Lay’s, offering fans worldwide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the 2026 World Cup live.

To enter the contest in Singapore, participants had to spend $12 on Frito-Lay products and the 45-year-old decided to try his luck.

By late June, the human resource assistant general manager and Alistair, 14, were on a flight to Seattle, where they watched Belgium’s thrilling 3-2 win over Senegal in the round of 32 at Lumen Field, also known as the Seattle Stadium, on July 1.

In all, 104 winners from over 35 countries were selected.

Each of them received a pair of tickets to a World Cup game, along with pitch-side access, travel and accommodation, a custom trophy and a jumbotron cameo.

Ng said: “It was quite an experience because Seattle Stadium is one of the top stadiums in this World Cup across the three countries.

“In Seattle, the weather was perfect for football and the whole design of the stadium is quite futuristic.

“The shape and arc of the stadium helped create such an electric atmosphere, especially when you can hear the fans of the Belgium Red Army and the Senegalese fans drumming away.”

After arriving in the United States on June 30, Ng and Alistair checked into their hotel, where a Lay’s representative handed them official event gear.

They received a letter addressed to the Transportation Security Administration – an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security – to facilitate security screening for the trophy they would later receive at the game.

On match day, the pair left their hotel at 10am and made their way to the stadium, where they visited the fan activity zones, before settling into their Category 1 seats for the 1pm match.

At half-time, they were introduced on the jumbotron as Lay’s Fan of the Match in front of 66,923 other spectators at the stadium.

With the match nearing the end, they were ushered from the stands and escorted to the pitch side, where they waited to receive their trophy.

There, they found themselves with an unexpected front-row seat to the game’s most dramatic twist.

Stationed near the corner flag, they watched from close range as Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans struck late to send the match into extra time.

Before the start of the additional 30 minutes, during which Tielemans scored the winner from a penalty, Ng and Alistair stood where the action had taken place, as they received the trophy on the pitch.

Ng said: “It was really an eye-opener for both my son and I to be so close to the pitch, and that was something I couldn’t have imagined.

“Especially towards the end, in the last 10 minutes, when some of the players were attacking on the right side of the pitch, it was quite a surreal moment.”

The trip held personal significance for Ng, whose love for football was cultivated by his late father during trips to the old National Stadium to support the Lions in the Malaysia Cup.

Sharing this experience with Alistair, who has autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression, was particularly poignant.

The timing was also significant for Ng, who celebrated his birthday on July 3. He said: “One of his (Alistair’s) idols is (Lionel) Messi. But, even though we didn’t get the chance to watch the Argentina match, it was the first World Cup for both myself and him.

“It came full circle in that it was a good once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to experience (the World Cup) together.

“To be able to celebrate my birthday abroad in Seattle and doing this, it definitely wasn’t on my list in 2026.”

It was also memorable as they quickly made friends with fans from other countries.

Apart from the football festivities, Ng, a long-time Sweden fan who has followed them since their third-place finish at the 1994 World Cup, and Alistair also visited the iconic Space Needle.

They also went whale watching and spotted some orcas.

As their trip to the US draws to a close with the duo arriving back in Singapore on July 5, it is an experience they will treasure for a lifetime.

Ng said: “It’s good that we got a lot of things. I can’t describe how happy this experience has made me.”