‘It’s been our dream forever’ – How Lay’s RePlay took young players from local pitches to the 2026 World Cup

The first glimpse of the stadium comes through a chain-link fence.

A group of young soccer players, all wearing matching white hoodies identifying them as winners of the RePlay World Cup League, walk toward the venue. Around them, supporters in yellow Colombia jerseys and green Mexico shirts stream toward the gates. The noise builds as they get closer.

For many of the players, it is a moment they never believed would come.

“It’s been our dream forever, really,” one participant says.

That dream did not begin in Mexico City. It started on community pitches thousands of miles away through Lay’s RePlay, an initiative that uses recycled chip packets to help create artificial, five-a-side soccer fields in communities around the world.

Since launching in 2021, RePlay has opened 13 pitches across 12 countries, providing spaces that have been used by approximately 1.1 million people. Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the initiative expanded beyond the pitches by creating nine RePlay leagues in seven countries.

More than 1,900 young players across 200 teams participated in those leagues, playing 800 games over 665 hours. The opportunity to advance was not based solely on results. Participants were also recognized for embodying the values of the program, including supporting teammates and celebrating those around them.

The reward was the second phase of the journey: an all-inclusive trip to experience the World Cup in Mexico City, Los Angeles or New York/New Jersey.

In Mexico City, 30 participants from Colombia, Mexico and South Africa were brought together for several days built around soccer and local culture. They toured the city, watched traditional performances and visited the local Sabritas RePlay pitch for games and a community gathering.

Then came the moment they had all been waiting for.

“It’s a dream for me to go to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and get to meet a great team like Colombia,” one young player says in a video documenting the trip.

The group attended Colombia’s match against Uzbekistan at Mexico City Stadium, joining thousands of supporters for an experience that went well beyond simply watching a soccer game.

The footage does not need to oversell the significance of the moment. The expressions on the participants’ faces do enough. One young player looks across the stadium and takes in the scene around him.

“How beautiful is everything around me,” he says.

Another participant acknowledges the magnitude of simply being there.

“Not everyone can win this opportunity,” she says. “It’s my dream to be able to attend a FIFA World Cup.”

For the participants who traveled to Mexico City, the tournament became tangible for the first time. They were no longer following the action from their homes or imagining what it might feel like to sit inside one of soccer’s biggest stadiums. They were part of it.

When Colombia scored, the group erupted alongside the surrounding supporters, jumping from their seats and celebrating together.

“So happy to be here in the stadium,” one participant says.

Similar experiences unfolded elsewhere. Winners from Portugal and Italy traveled to Los Angeles, where their itinerary included a visit to the local RePlay pitch, a trip to Santa Monica Pier and a World Cup match.

A group from the United Kingdom traveled to New York and New Jersey, toured the city and attended England’s match against Panama. In each destination, the objective was the same: connect the local communities built through RePlay to the world’s biggest soccer tournament.

That connection is what separates the World Cup program from a traditional youth competition. The initial leagues gave young players somewhere to play and an opportunity to represent their communities. The trips then showed them where that journey could lead.

The World Cup eventually ends. The RePlay pitches will remain, continuing to provide places for young players and their communities to connect through soccer.

For those who made the journey to Mexico City, Los Angeles and New York, however, the memories will also remain: walking toward the stadium for the first time, hearing the crowd and celebrating a World Cup goal together.

RePlay’s global numbers demonstrate the initiative’s reach. The reactions from those young players showed what that impact actually looks like.