Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Trophy arrived in Baku on February 9.

The trophy is taken to the Ganjlik Mall business center. From 13:00 to 19:00, football fans get the chance to see the trophy closely.

The trophy is made of solid 18-carat gold and weighs around 6 kg. Traditionally, a team receives a gold-plated trophy for winning the World Cup.

While this iconic Trophy can only be lifted by the winners and head of state personalities, a 1998 FIFA World Cup Champion Christian Karembeu accompanied it to Azerbaijan, Trend Life reported.

At the press conference, Christian Karambe expressed gratitude to the organizers for the visit to Baku and hospitality.

"I'm glad to be back in Baku, who always aspired to holding sports competitions. The capital of Azerbaijan is a modern metropolis and we gladly brought the World Cup for the fans. We overcame a long distance and the visit to Baku is the sixteenth, but we are absolutely not tired. We are glad that brought this trophy, which is one of the important parts of football history. I would like to note that your football team played well under the leadership of former head coach Robert Prosinechka," he said.

AFFA Secretary General Elkhan Mammadov expressed gratitude to the organizers for the implementation of the project, and French footballer for the kind words and visit to Baku.

The World Cup is in the 4th World Tour. The visit to Azerbaijan is organized within the framework of cooperation of Coca-Cola and AFFA, the company's long-term partner in Azerbaijan.

The journey began in Moscow on September 9 at the Luzhniki Stadium. In January, the trophy will set off around the world, including to previous FIFA World Cup hosts, such as Germany, South Africa, Japan, France and other countries, before returning to Russia in May, one month before the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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