The FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour has landed in Oceania igniting early World Cup fever in the region.
The first stop on the whirlwind tour of the Pacific was Tonga yesterday with former World Cup winner with France and New Caledonia legend Christian Karembeu on-hand to unveil the coveted trophy.
The event, held at Queen Salote Memorial Hall was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Honorable Semisi Sika who said it was an historic moment for the nation where football is growing in popularity.
“I hope that by witnessing this priceless icon, Tongans will be inspired to embrace football and encourage our Tongan youth players to achieve and strive to reach the World Cup in the years to come.
Karembeu said accompanying the trophy back to Oceania was an honour, and he hoped the local community would make the most of their brush with history.
“We are going to inspire our youths to play football, promote it and implement the values of our sport which are respect and fairplay with discrimination, to build our future and nations.”
The next stop on the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour is the football-mad Solomon Islands with the final Oceania destination Papua New Guinea.
Before starting on the global tour, the FIFA World Cup ™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola travelled across Russia for three months, spanning more than 16,000 kilometres and visting 16 cities, making it the longest host country tour in history.