FIFA World Cup trophy to tour SA in May

“As part of our commitment to SA and our partnership with FIFA, we want to take the original World Cup trophy in every place of this country, hoping to give ordinary people, including the young and the old, an extraordinary unforgettable experience,” Coca-Cola SA president William Egbe said yesterday, Thursday 11 March 2010.

Egbe was speaking at Coca-Cola Park (former Ellis Park Stadium) during the kick-off of 2010 Coke celebrations.

The national tour, to be hosted under the umbrella of Coca-Cola Open Happiness Campaign, will kick off in Pretoria on 5 May and roll on in 38 cities and towns across SA's nine provinces.

Convinced event will be a success

The 32-day journey will end on 6 June, when the solid gold trophy will return to Jozi (Johannesburg) for the June 11 kick-off.

“There have been a lot of negative press reports around the World Cup's success in SA, but I have no doubt in my mind and I am convinced that those who wonder what it will be like must expect a spectacular event come June-July,” he said.

Onwell Msomi, general manager of 2010 Coca-Cola project team, told reporters that millions of fans and friends in SA will get not only close and personal with the trophy, but also have their pictures taken with the trophy and participate in vibrant celebrations as fever mounts with exactly 90 days left for the kick-off.

The trophy is being transported in a chartered branded plane commissioned by Coca-Cola Company. In SA, it will move from town to town in a special helicopter.

The Open Happiness Campaign, which is exciting millions of people disseminated in 205 markets throughout the world, is said to be the biggest marketing campaign ever in the history of the World Cup, according to Zayd Abrahams, Coca-Cola SA head of marketing sparkling beverages.

A boost for grassroots football

Abrahams also said that a planned series of TV commercials - the first of which is already on SA TV and cinema screens - will be used to drive the 2010 FIFA World Cup joy and celebration into competitions and things for fans to do.

Furthermore, Egbe reiterated his company's commitment to ordinary people's social and economic causes and spoke of an ‘unbreakable bond' with the communities it serves.

He pointed out that Coca-Cola has invested ‘significant' resources to support the environment and the informal economy by giving people opportunities of self-employment.

Coca-Cola contributes about 1.2% to SA's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and about 1.8% of Africa's GDP.

“We will set up fan parks across the country and support grassroots football and provide schools with clean drinking water and adequate sanitation to ensure a sustainable legacy long after the event is over,” Egbe said.

As part of its Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), the Coca-Cola Foundation is investing about US$30 million (R2.25 billion) to provide access to clean water and hygiene education to African communities.

The Foundation also introduced an initiative called ‘Water for Schools' in SA as part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup organisation.

Go to www.thecoca-colacompany.com.