South Africa delight at Trophy Tour visit

A wealth of football talent is helping the latest leg of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, presented by Heineken, hit the heights. Portuguese legend Eusébio is being joined by local legends Shaun Bartlett and Lucas Radebe for the South African leg of the tour. Bartlett was on board for the leg in Cape Town and Radebe will be present in Johannesburg.

Ambassador legend
Trophy Tour ambassador Eusébio's exploits include winning the trophy in 1962 with SL Benfica, three years before being named European Footballer of the Year. He is being accompanied by co-ambassadors Radebe, captain of the Leeds United AFC squad which reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2001, and Bartlett, South Africa's second-highest goalscorer with 28 goals in 74 matches, in celebrating the prestige of the UEFA Champions League trophy with local football fans.

Holy grail
The aims of the Africa 2009 tour – which follows similar trophy expeditions to Asia and Latin America over the last two years – have included sharing the excitement and heritage of the UEFA Champions League, and offering local fans a glimpse of the holy grail of the European club game. The Trophy Tour visit to Cape Town last weekend was based around the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, located at the heart of the city's working harbour and with a dramatic backdrop of Table Mountain.

Big crowds
In Cape Town, the tour opened with media and trade events before two public days took place over the weekend. A bus paraded the trophy through the city, and arrived at the V&A Waterfront with thousands of cheering fans greeting Eusébio and Bartlett. Enthusiasts who attended the public day were given the chance to watch vintage football clips, view memorabilia and share photo opportunities both with the prize silverware and Eusébio. An autograph session with the ambassadors also proved a resounding success. Over 50,000 fans were able to capture themselves with the Trophy and savour an unforgettable moment.

Johannesburg stage
The setting for the Johannesburg stage will be the Montecasino Piazza public exhibition and entertainment centre in South Africa's largest city. A press conference and trade event on Friday will be followed by two public days on Saturday and Sunday.

Tour memorabilia
Memorabilia on what has been a resoundingly successful Trophy Tour includes a 2007/08 UEFA Champions League Starball signed by AC Milan attacker Kaká; the 2006, 2007 and 2008 UEFA Champions League final match balls; a current Manchester United FC UEFA Champions League shirt autographed by Cristiano Ronaldo; an FC Barcelona UEFA Champions League jersey bearing Ronaldinho's signature; a boot signed by AS Roma forward Francesco Totti; match programmes and pennants; referees' cards autographed by former Italian official Pierluigi Collina and a host of other items to fascinate football enthusiasts.

Promotion platform
UEFA feels that touring the trophy outside Europe helps bring the past and present of the UEFA Champions League story to football supporters on different continents. The fans also find out about UEFA's values and are perhaps encouraged to play the game themselves. Heineken is a long-standing UEFA partner, for whom the tour is an ideal promotional platform which strengthens even further its relationship with the UEFA Champions League. Click here for more details of the Trophy Tour.