A Coca-Cola bottle cap. That was the starting point of one of the most unusual stories in Latin American football. In 1998, María del Jesús Pinargote Zambrano, originally from the parish of Canuto, in Manabí, Ecuador, collected six commemorative cups from a Coca-Cola promotion, placed her coupon in a ballot box, and won one of the only two prizes awarded in all of Latin America: to travel for life to every World Cup, with all expenses covered and one companion included.
The detail that makes the story even more extraordinary: before that prize, Pinargote had never left Ecuador or boarded a plane. Her first flight was directly to the 1998 World Cup in France. Since then, she has not missed a single edition. France, Korea-Japan, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and Qatar: seven consecutive World Cups, accompanied in different editions by her husband —who died years later—, a cousin, and her sister-in-law Mercedes.
Today, at around 68 years old, she is one of the most recognized fans in the history of Ecuadorian football. However, the 2026 World Cup will be the first one she watches from home: health problems are preventing her from making the trip. A 27-year story that began with a bottle cap and that time turned into legend.
