Almost eight months after it began back on 21 September 2009, The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola came to a conclusion on 2 May with a highly successful all-day event and early evening concert in Houston, USA - the final stop on a 225-day tour that saw the trophy travel over 134,000 kilometres (83,000 miles).

More than 13,000 fans from all over the city packed the University of Houston Intramural Field to be involved in the day’s festivities and get a rare glimpse at the authentic FIFA World Cup trophy, with the event being capped by a twilight concert featuring musicians Ana Isabelle, David Brisbal and K’Naan.

Before hitting Houston, the trophy first touched down in the United States on 30 April in Miami, where it spent the day being featured on a variety of programs of broadcast partner Univision, from morning show “Despierto America” to nightly newscast “Primer Impacto.” Two-time FIFA World Cup™ goal scorer and former Mexican National Team player Enrique Borja was on hand to welcome the trophy to south Florida and unveil it to audiences of the nation’s largest Spanish-language network.

The North American leg of the tour commenced on 28 May in Toronto, where it was welcomed by Canadian Soccer Association President Dr. Dominic Maestracci and was the centrepiece of two days’ activities that included an event at the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) with an attendance of more than 3,000 fans, followed the next day by a special engagement for guests of Coca-Cola Canada at the Capitol Theatre.

With the final tour segment complete, the FIFA World Cup trophy has visited 91 cities in an impressive 84 countries in total. The trophy will arrive back in Johannesburg on 4 May, where it will begin a separate tour that will visit various cities and townships within the host country leading up to the kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 11 June.