What is the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola and where is it going?

It’s the trophy we all want more than any other.

The entire world wants to witness their country claim it for themselves. And every player in the history of the game has spent countless night dreaming of one day rising it above their heads.

But the truth is, few of us will ever even get to see it, let alone win it or lift it triumphantly.

At least that was the case before Coca-Cola took on the momentous task of bringing it to the world.

Coca-Cola/Goal

The trophy has now begun its globetrot in earnest, with Monday’s official opening ceremony seeing former winners provide it a fitting goodbye.

England 1966 hero Sir Geoff Hurst and Italy 2006 star Andrea Pirlo joined Goal in London to climb aboard the plane before it departed on its epic journey.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola is a global journey that will deliver the most coveted trophy in all of sports to every corner of the globe, before returning to Russia in June for World Cup 2018.

“The Trophy Tour will give fans everywhere a taste of the excitement that’s to come, not to mention a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Trophy for themselves,"said Ricardo Fort, Vice President of Global Sports Partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company.

2018 is the fourth time long-standing World Cup sponsor Coca-Cola have joined forces with FIFA to take the trophy to fans across the world. 

This year it will attend a number of nations for the first time, including Iceland and Mongolia, and looks set to be bigger and better than ever.

“Following the success of the first phase of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, which gave more than 220,000 people across Russia the chance to see the FIFA World Cup Trophy with their own eyes, we are very excited to now offer this unforgettable opportunity to football fans around the world," said Phillipe Le Floc’h, Chief Commercial Officer at FIFA.

Before kicking it off the global leg of this remarkable tour, the trophy travelled all across World Cup 2018 host nation Russia.

So, it was just a small-scale domestic leg to warm up for what lies ahead? Not a chance!

The trophy travelled right across Russia over a three-month period, taking in 16 cities and racking up almost 10,000 miles.

Where won't it go? Over the next few months the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola will visit no less than 91 cities across 51 countries and six continents before settling back in Russia for the tournament.

Next up is Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the tour will end in Vladivostok on May 1. See the full list of destinations below.

For more information on the Trophy Tour head to the official FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour Instagram or Facebook page