Press. voanews.com
The FIFA World
Cup trophy has arrived in Kenya. A tour that began last September will see the
famed trophy make stops in more than 50 countries across six continents ahead
of its ultimate destination - Russia, the host of this year's World Cup
tournament. There was excitement as the most coveted trophy in football, the
FIFA World Cup trophy, landed in Kenya's capital for a 26-hour visit on Monday.
Kenya is one of
10 African countries where FIFA, soccer's top organizing body, is bringing the
trophy on its 51-country global tour. The trophy and its handlers were met in
Nairobi by government officials, FIFA country officials, and the country
manager for Coca Cola, which is sponsoring the tour. FIFA marketing manager
Lucas Raschow is part of the team taking the trophy to various African
countries.
"As you
know there has been a lot of African teams participating at the FIFA World Cup
and for us it is a great pleasure to be in Africa.... We know there area lot of
passionate football fans here and for us it is about inspiring the youth and
football players of the country of maybe dreaming of one day winning the FIFA
world cup," said Raschow.
The trophy also
visited Kenya before World Cup tournaments in 2010 and 2014. Football fans in
the Kenya will have a chance to view and take photos of the trophy on Tuesday
at the Kenyatta International Conventions Centre in Nairobi. The trophy stands
only 36 centimeters tall and weighs just six kilograms.But it is extremely
valuable, partly because it is made out of 18-carat gold, partly because it
represents the pinnacle of soccer achievement around the world.
The trophy can
only be touched and held by a very select group of people that includes former
World Cup winners and heads of state. President Uhuru Kenyatta held the trophy
at State House a couple of hours after its arrival. Kenya will not make it to
the tournament in Russia, as it lost to Cape Verde at the pre-qualifiers stage
in 2015. African countries that qualified for the tournament and a chance to
win the trophy are Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal and Tunisia. On Tuesday,
the trophy and its handlers take off again, heading to Maputo, Mozambique.