Four years ago, football-mad youngster Will Richardson enjoyed the experience of a lifetime when walking out with the players at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two lucky children will soon follow in his footsteps as New Zealand Football and McDonald’s again team up to get young New Zealanders onto the pitch at the biggest football event on the planet.

There are two player escort packages for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ up for grabs for a child and their guardian, offering the children a unique opportunity to walk the players onto the pitch at the Brazil vs Costa Rica match in St Petersburg, Russia. All you need to do to be in with the chance to win is upload a video or photo of your child playing football and you’re in the draw.

Anyone can enter regardless of ability, so get out there and capture your child kicking a ball around or having fun playing football with family, friends or team mates.

Previous winner Will is certainly glad to have put his name in the hat last time as it resulted in an experience he will remember for the rest of his life.

“’Trip of a lifetime’, ‘experience money can’t buy’ and ‘you’re so lucky’ were all phrases we heard from family and friends – who were both envious and thrilled – when they heard Will had won the trip,” recalls his mother Victoria. “The prize couldn’t have gone to a more football-mad kid and he was so excited.”

Will earned the chance to walk out with the Argentina team before their 2014 World Cup final against Germany and says that feeling is difficult to put into words.

“I walked on the pitch holding the hand of the huge Argentinian defender Ezequiel Garay,” he says.

“Seeing my name up on the scoreboard when it listed all the kids was pretty cool too! With more than a billion fans watching on TV and the Maracana Stadium full, it was a little nerve wracking but I just soaked up the atmosphere – it was amazing! To shake Messi’s hand in the tunnel and then be the only New Zealander in history to have been on the pitch in the World Cup final, it was an incredible experience and I was the luckiest kid ever!”

Will joined 21 other children from around the world who had also been chosen as player escorts for the final and spent the week leading up to the day exploring Rio, including Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana Beach.

“Highlights for me were becoming great friends with the Aussie kid Liam, exploring Rio, playing a football game on the beach, and of course meeting Lionel Messi and watching the final,” he says.

Now nearly 14, Will was 10-years-old at the time and playing for Eastern Suburbs AFC. He still stars for the Auckland-based club and is also part of the academy at Saint Kentigern College, where he is looking to sharpen his skills under the watchful eye of former All Whites captain Chris Zorocich. He also plays futsal socially and his interest isn’t limited to the playing side of the small-sided game as he is also a keen referee.

He supports Arsenal in the English Premier League and is keen for Iceland to do well at the upcoming World Cup because it’s their first appearance but wants France to win.

To put your child in with a chance to follow in Will’s footsteps please click here

Photo: Will Richardson shakes hands with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi