JOY AND ENTHUSIASM ENGULF SUDAN AS THE FIFA WORLD CUP™ TROPHY TOUR BY COCA-COLA TOUCHES DOWN

Khartoum, Sudan, 22 February 2018: With the arrival of the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy today in Khartoum as part of the fourth world tour of the trophy organized by Coca Cola, a wave of joy and enthusiasm engulfed the hearts of Sudanese football fans who were ecstatic over the trophy’s two-day visit to Khartoum.

The Cup arrived in a private plane accompanied by a FIFA delegation and a number of executives from the Coca Cola Company. At the airport, a special celebration was organized and addressed by representatives of FIFA and Coca Cola, welcoming the visit and declaring the kick-off of the celebrations in Sudan.

Coca-Cola Egypt and North Africa Region Director Mr Imad Benmoussa addressed the media saying: “Our presence today in Sudan is a confirmation that football can unite the world. Today is a special day as this historic visit is the first for the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy to Africa, and we can already see the positive impact. The tour would give all football fans around Sudan the opportunity to see football’s most coveted prize up close. The FIFA World Cup Cup™ Trophy tour clearly reflects the special place of the game in the world and we are extremely proud to be part of this initiative”.

Coca Cola has a long-standing relationship with FIFA which started in 1976. In 1987 it became the official sponsor of the World Cup. The current tour is the fourth tour of the Trophy and it includes 91 cities in 51 countries on 6 continents, covering 152 thousand kilometres in its 9-month trip.

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Mr. Ihab Daoud Abdellatif, Managing Director of Dal Food commented: “Our hosting of the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour in Sudan for the first time is a source of pleasure and satisfaction to us, and also of inspiration and encouragement to the Sudanese football community and to the country as a whole. We do hope that this historic visit becomes an incentive to our national team to participate in the World Cup finals in the near future.”

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After the press conference, Coca Cola is organizing several events over the coming two days to celebrate the visit of the trophy to Khartoum. These events afford the general public, particularly the youth, the opportunity to see the FIFA World Cup.

At the same time, Lucas Rachow, FIFA ‎Head of Services & Partnerships added, “We are pleased to renew our partnership with Coca Cola and organize the fourth FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour as this would allow the football fans in Sudan and around the world to see the most famous trophy. As the fans prepare to watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, we want them to be ready to live this unique experience and enjoy the championship this summer.”

The tour started in Russia in September 2017 where it toured for four months before commencing its tour around the world. After visiting Sudan, which is the 27th stop in this fourth tour, the Coca Cola plane will take the trophy to Addis Ababa.

To view the most recent developments in the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca Cola, including the countries visited and the dates, and to watch exclusive interviews, take photos, and record videos, visit the official website www.fifa.com/trophytour, the Facebook page www.facebook.com/trophytour, and the official Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/trophytour.

It is worth pointing out that the partnership between Coca Cola and FIFA started in 1976 and in 1978, Coca Cola became the official sponsor of the World Cup. Since 1950, Coca Cola ads have filled stadiums around the world, making the company the permanent sponsor of football at all levels. This is the fourth tour in which Coca Cola cooperated with FIFA.