THE FIFA World Cup trophy will be in Buffalo City - at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane - on the final leg of its global tour on Thursday, 13 May.

The gold trophy is stopping at more than 30 cities and towns in South Africa before landing in Johannesburg in time for the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ at Soccer City on 11 June. It will remain in the city for the tournament.

On 6 May, South Africa's first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, laid his hands on the trophy at Johannesburg's Nelson Mandela Foundation - just 35 days before kick-off of Africa's first football World Cup.

Its day at Sisa Dukashe Stadium will start at 9am, with activities running until 4pm. The tour is spearheaded by Coca-Cola South Africa, one of the main sponsors of the football tournament.

According to Onwell Msomi, the general manager of the 2010 World Cup project team at Coca-Cola, millions of South Africans will get an opportunity to see the trophy up close.

"This is a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience as not all South Africans will be able to get tickets to watch FIFA World Cup matches. But everyone will have an opportunity to participate in the Trophy Tour."

According to a press release from the Coca-Cola Company, the trophy has been a symbol of the World Cup since its first appearance on the global stage in 1974. "Only heads of state and the captains of the winning teams are allowed to touch it."

Already, it has traveled 130 000 kilometres across the world and in South Africa it will be moved from town to town in a special helicopter.

The tour began on 7 May in Western Cape; by the time it ends in Gauteng, the trophy will have been to Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

It will be displayed for public viewing and people will have an opportunity to take pictures with it. Live performances and entertainers will be present at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium.