And the tour begins!

The World Cup trophy is set to embark on its longest ever global tour, with Fifa and Coca-Cola taking the solid-gold trophy to 86 countries during a 225-day journey.

The route of the tour, which will allow thousands of fans to enjoy a rare close-up view of the trophy, was unveiled in Zurich Monday by the world governing body and sponsors Coca-Cola.

The trophy will travel 134 017 kilometres and visit every nation in Africa to give African fans the once-in-a-lifetime experience of having their picture taken with the trophy.

Later in the week, the trophy will be flown from Zurich to its first stop in Cairo, Egypt.

“Through this event, we are really engaging football fans on a global scale, giving them the unique opportunity to have their picture taken with the most prestigious prize in world football and to embrace the excitement surrounding the Fifa World Cup,” said Blatter.

“I am especially thrilled that the Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour takes in all 54 nations in Africa and that this opportunity is thus afforded to all African football fans.”