FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour returns to Russia
Nine cities left to visit
Crossed six continents during the global phase
On 1 May, the FIFA World Cup Original Trophy will return to Russia, the host country of the upcoming 21st FIFA World Cup™. There it will visit nine remaining cities: Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg and Moscow, making it the longest host country tour in history.
The return of the Trophy to Russia heralds the beginning of final preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and will mark the 45-days-to-go milestone to the planet’s premier football event.
“The global leg of the Trophy Tour concluded on 30 April after a memorable last stop in Japan,” commented FIFA Chief Commercial Officer Philippe Le Floc’h. “During a global journey that began on 22 January 2018, the FIFA World Cup Trophy visited 51 countries across six continents and gave over 330 000 football fans around the world an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Original Trophy up close. We are very excited about the results so far and, together with our partner Coca-Cola, are looking forward to continuing the Trophy Tour across another nine cities in Russia ahead of the FIFA World Cup kick-off on 14 June,” he added.
The Trophy Tour is a rare opportunity for fans to see the Original Trophy up close and have the experience captured with a photograph. It is an exciting and unique experience since the Trophy is otherwise only displayed at the FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich.
“The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola is the greatest experiential marketing event in the world of football, and Coca-Cola is proud to make it possible. By bringing the original FIFA World Cup Trophy to 91 cities in 51 countries, 25 of which had never hosted the Trophy before, we have helped millions of football fans around the world get #ReadyFor the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,“ said Coca-Cola Vice-President Ricardo Fort.
This is the fourth time that FIFA have organised the Trophy Tour alongside partner company Coca-Cola. It was first staged ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany and, as part of the build-up to the tournament ever since, the tour has allowed people all around the world to feel part of the upcoming festival of football. In September 2017, the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola kicked off at the tournament’s main venue, the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, travelling three months in the host country and visiting 16 Russian cities including Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, and Sochi.
On 22 January, the global leg of the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola started with an official launch ceremony in London, before visiting international 66 cities, across 50 countries and 6 continents, travelling 146,835 kilometres and giving more than 146 000 football fans the chance to experience football’s most coveted prize. In total, the Original Trophy has been seen by over 330 000 football fans around the world from September till April.
With each edition of the Tour, the number of countries and cities visited increases, ensuring more and more supporters get to see the coveted trophy up close.