Emotions ran high when we welcomed the winners of last year’s social media competition to the FIFA Museum in Zurich. The couple came all the way from Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. But the long journey was well worth it, as they were treated to a private tour of the museum and an exclusive dinner at a very special location.

At the end of last year we held a social media competition, giving participants the chance to win an all-inclusive weekend trip to Zurich, including an exclusive dining experience fit for champions. The winner of the contest was Kella Thomas-Jackson of Saint Lucia, who had not only forgotten that she participated, but was initially hesitant to believe that she was the one who had won it.

After triple-checking that she was definitely not being scammed, Kella was thrilled to accept her prize, treating her husband Simon, a history buff and football fan, to a dream trip to Switzerland. The lucky pair had previously set their sights on a European adventure together, and were delighted to have won a way to make their wish a reality.

On the last day in Zurich, it was finally time to visit the FIFA Museum which would be the highlight of the trip. It was a pleasure to take Kella and Simon on a private tour of the FIFA Museum, where they were particularly taken with the story of Pickles, the hero dog who rescued the Jules Rimet Cup after it had been stolen ahead of the FIFA World Cup 1996™ in England. Simon was a big fan of tracking the evolution of football across the museum’s timeline, while Kella was taken by the sheer variation of memorabilia on display, although she couldn’t get past the trophies themselves as a tour highlight.

Then, when the Museum shut its doors to the public at 6pm – our prize winners had the place all to themselves. They were led down to the FIFA World Cup™ Gallery, where the museum’s culinary team had created a dinner date for champions, in a location like no other in the world! The table was set up right between the showcases with the two FIFA World Cup trophies.

As soon as the couple took their seats, they were indulged with course after course of delicious food that had been exclusively prepared for the evening. While they ate, they chatted with each other about their experience, and even became a bit emotional about the opportunities that the trip had given them. Of course, they didn’t miss the chance to make their friends and family back home just a little envious, video-calling them from the table to share the special setting of their supper in Zurich.

It was a glittering end to the trip for Kella and Simon, who grabbed the opportunity to explore Zurich earlier in the week, discovering the hidden gems of the city and even venturing up to the picturesque mountains of Grindelwald.

Thank you so much, Kella and Simon, for being such enthusiastic and engaging competition winners. It was wonderful to welcome you to the home of football history and learn a bit about you and your lives back in Saint Lucia.