Football: World Cup Trophy Heads to Vienna in January
Nearly five months before the start of the Football World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, the coveted trophy is making a stop in Austria. On January 7th, a delegation of the "FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola" will land in Vienna, and the golden trophy will be on display for one day at the new ÖFB Campus in Vienna-Aspern. Fans can secure a photo with the trophy via a competition, but only Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is allowed to touch it.
From Istanbul to Vienna
A yet-to-be-revealed legend of a World Cup-winning team will officially hand over the trophy to Van der Bellen. The trophy will be flown in from Istanbul in a branded airplane, accompanied by an Austrian delegation that includes U17 success coach Hermann Stadler and ÖFB Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Pröll.
"The Federal President suggested that we should bring the FIFA World Cup trophy to Austria. This will be a tough task for the national team. Our long-time partner Coca-Cola has managed to do it a bit earlier," said Pröll in a statement released on Wednesday.
The trophy is 37 centimeters tall, weighs over six kilos, and is made mostly of 18-carat gold. Only Van der Bellen is allowed to hold it in Austria. Only a few FIFA employees and players of the victorious World Cup team, alongside heads of state, are allowed to touch it. Who will present the World Cup trophy is still a secret. During the last visit to Austria in February 2018, France's former World Champion Christian Karembeu was present.
FIFA Retains World Cup Trophy
The sixth global "FIFA World Cup Trophy" tour starts on January 3rd in Saudi Arabia. Over 75 stops are planned. Fans can obtain tickets for the reception at the ÖFB Campus through competitions in the Coca-Cola app and through media partners.
The trophy will be presented to the captain of the new World Cup-winning team on July 19th in New Jersey. However, it remains in the permanent possession of FIFA. The association of the World Cup-winning country always receives a replica after the final. Austria is participating in the tournament in North America for the first time in 28 years. In the group stage, the ÖFB team will face defending champion Argentina, Algeria, and Jordan.
(APA/Red)
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