FIFA World Cup trophy arrives in Toronto as part of 51-country tour
FILE - The FIFA World Cup soccer trophy is displayed Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray, File)
The highly coveted, solid-gold trophy awarded to the winners of the quadrennial FIFA World Cup football tournament will be arriving in the GTA this morning.
As part of the final leg of a 51-country global tour, the original FIFA World Cup is set to be revealed during an 11 a.m. ceremony at Pearson International Airport.
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The 14.5-inch tall trophy, which weights just over 13 pounds, will then be taken to Toronto’s BMO Field at Exhibition Place early this afternoon for a sold-out “fan activation” event where among other things there will be a VIP reception followed by a fireside chat with football icons.
Stephanie Labbé, a former Canadian women’s national team goalkeeper and the current general manager of women’s soccer for the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club as well as former Canadian men’s national team midfielder Dwayne De Rosario will both be in attendance to help welcome football’s biggest prize to the future FIFA World Cup venue.
Last June, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced Toronto has been selected as one of the 16 host cities for the 2026 tournament. All World Cup games in the city will be played at BMO Field. Temporary seating will be added to the 30,000-seat venue to expand its capacity to at least 45,000 seats, which is the minimum number of seats required by soccer’s global governing body.
A rendering of an expansion set to be added to BMO Field is seen in this image. (www.bmofield.com)
The FIFA World Cup Tour, which is being put on by Coca-Cola and will see the trophy brought to all 32 countries that have qualified for this year’s tournament, is happening just weeks before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 20.
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