LOS ANGELES – The most prestigious and iconic trophy in sports made its way to Los Angeles on Saturday.
With the 2022 FIFA World Cup set to kick off in Qatar on Nov. 20, the World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca Cola is taking the hardware across the world – the same one awarded to the World Cup-winning nation – to allow fans to experience and see the gold up close and personal.
Currently, the trophy is making its way through four cities in the United States and Canada, with Los Angeles getting first dibs at L.A. Live right next to Crypto.com Arena, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Kings.
In order to get access to the event, fans had to purchase a 20 oz. Coke bottle with the 2022 FIFA World Cup labeling, scan the code on the package and submit the code underneath the cap that revealed your ticket.
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Once inside, fans received a lanyard with seven events to partake in and stamp in order to receive a prize. The first had fans lined up to take a professional photo with the World Cup trophy sealed inside a glass case. The photo would then go straight to your phone with the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour logo on the bottom left and the hashtag #BelievingisMagic on the bottom right.
Prior to opening the trophy room for all fans, Brazilian icon Kaká helped unveil the trophy, with former USMNT midfielder Jermaine Jones also making an appearance as the event rolled on.
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From there, fans could line up at any of the remaining five events: an Angel’s photo wall embodying the NWSL team Angel City FC, a pop-up trivia booth, an ink studio to get some temporary tattoos, a sand bottle station and a drill station. The other event that didn’t have a waiting line involved posting your photo with the trophy on social media with the hashtag.
The drill station was definitely intriguing. There were seven LAFC academy players leading three different dribbling and footwork drills such as cone dribbling, ladders and one-touch control, among others. After completing one or all three, there was an option to play a short 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 game against the academy players.
Next up in the U.S., the trophy will head to Dallas at the Lighthouse Airspace from Nov. 6-7. Then it will head to East Rutherford, N.J. at the American Dream on Nov. 8 before concluding its run in Toronto on Nov. 9.
FIFA’s goal is to take the trophy to each of its 211 member associations by 2030, with the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The trophy also visited all 32 nations in the 2022 World Cup for the first time ever.
