Marc Stamp, Star Writer

Jamaica will be the first stop during the Caribbean leg of the nine-month-long FIFA World Cup Trophy tour by Coca-Cola on October 5 and 6.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola will give more than one million people across the world the chance to experience the FIFA World Cup Trophy in their own communities.

The trophy will make a first-ever appearance in the region at the National Indoor Sports Complex on Sunday, October 6. The event will allow fans to enjoy a rare close-up view of world football's greatest prize.

"This will be the largest and longest global tour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Visiting more countries than ever during its nine-month journey, the tour by Coca-Cola will be the first-ever Latin America tour, with events in 39 countries across the region that is home to the host nation, Brazil," Maritza Ballack, franchise brand manager of the Coca-Cola Company for Trinidad and Jamaica, announced at the press launch yesterday at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

"Through our partnership with FIFA, Coca-Cola will bring to life a marketing initiative that will make the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil the world's most accessible and inclusive event," Ballack added.

The tour officially starts in Brazil on September 9 and will make the first international stop there before travelling to the South Pacific to then get to Jamaica on October 5 and 6.

Natalie Neita-Headley, minister with responsibility for sports, said Jamaica is excited about the tour.

"Football is part of who we are in Jamaica. It's an all-around-the-country sport that is played in the streets and anywhere with any object that can be kicked around."