The UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and Barcelona at the Olympiastadion Stadium, Berlin, Germany, may have come and gone, but for the distributors of the premium beer -Heineken, the memory of their Berlin experience will linger for as long as they live.
Heineken, the major sponsor of the world’s biggest club competition in its characteristics sponsored some lucky Nigerians to watch the finals of the UEFA Champions League and all of them had exciting time at the German capital.
For the past eight years, Heineken have been rewarding five of its lucky consumers with an all-expense paid trip to watch the final match of the most prestigious club competition, and same this year Nigerian Breweries Plc gave some of its customers an unforgettable experience with the Berlin spectacle.
Aside the Berlin experience, Heineken also made 20 ‘lucky’ Nigerians much further away from home, to be part of an all-expense paid VIP experience on the exotic island of Ibiza, off the coast of Spain.
For most of the Nigerians that traveled to Berlin, it was a dream when they received the call from Nigerian Breweries that they have won an all-expense paid trip to Berlin, “It was like a dream when the call came through that I have won,” Benin based Christiana Odiaka said.
Odiaka, whose experience at the Olympiastadion was her first ofwatching a football match live said, she would forever remain grateful to Heineken. “Though I’m not really a football buff, all the experiences about football before now was restricted to watching it on television, most especially when it involves the national team. It was more exciting that my first experience was to see the greatest footballers on the planet. It was beyond my wildest dream that I would one day watch Lionel Messi play live. I will live to cherish the experience,” she said.
Aside from the match proper, the customers also had fond memories of other exciting places.
The customers first had a feel of what was in the offing for them on their first day of arrival in Berlin, as they visited the Kraftwerk Kopenicker, where they were entertained to the fullest. They had the opportunity to meet with other nationals from all over the world while they were also treated to good music, entertainment and also had a glimpse of the UEFA Champions League trophy.
If these ‘tourists’ felt they had had real fun of what Heineken had in store for them, they were however in for real good time on the second day. On the second day, after a wonderful breakfast, buses were already waiting to take them to their next port of call which was the Tempethof Damn after which they proceeded on a 45 minutes road walk accompanied by a tour guide who took them through history and memories of the old West Germany and the remains of the Berlin Wall.
In fact, an Oshogbo-based customer, Rauf Olaiya said as much as he was looking forward to seeing Messi, Neymar and other Barcelona stars on parade, seeing the remains of the Berlin Wall was something he would take to his grave. “Nigeria too can make the best of our history and tradition if the government can invest more on tourism. The Osun Oshogbo could be made bigger to attract more tourists from all over the world which would boost our economy rather than depend solely on crude oil, which have even depreciated in the world market.
“The Germans have taken advantage of their history to attract tourists to their country. Imagine the amount of revenue they would be generating from tourism alone? Yet they cannot boast of half of what Nigeria has when it comes to historical places but we fail to cash-in on the advantage, “Olaiya lamented.
Olaiya, who interestingly is a Barcelona fan was very grateful toHeineken for not only giving him the opportunity of watching his team play in the final of the UEFA Champions League live but also to visit places of interest in Berlin.
“I’ll have a lot of stories to tell when I return to Nigeria and wish for another opportunity to visit Germany. The environment is very conducive, the city of Berlin is well planned and it’s good for business. I’ll forever be grateful to Heineken for the rare opportunity, “he said.
However, for Chinedu Ofoma, who is an ardent Barcelona fan, he said seeing the Barca trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar playlive will remain monumental. The other thing that thrilled him was the Heineken Village. “The fun at the Heineken Village was unprecedented. There was a lot to eat and drink and I also met and made friends with other Heineken family all over the world. Though the moment I boarded the plane to Berlin, my attention was on the game and nothing else, but the Heineken Village was the dress rehearsal to Barcelona’s victory,” an obviously elated Ofoma said.
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