Famous trophy on show in Jakarta

The UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour of Asia reached the Indonesian capital Jakarta today.

Six-week visit
The trophy is visiting five countries over a six-week period to celebrate Europe's premier club competition, while also highlighting the huge interest in football in that region. The UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour - presented by sponsors Heineken - kicked off in Tokyo last week, and will stay in Jakarta until Sunday, before moving to Hong Kong (China, 16-18 March), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, 22-25 March), and the Thai cities of Bangkok (30 March-1 April) and Pattaya (6-8 April).

Global competition
"By creating initiatives like the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, we are making the UEFA Champions League experience more accessible to local football fans and enabling them to share in the magic of Europe's best club competition," said Michele Centenaro, UEFA's head of club competitions. "It builds on the UEFA Champions Gallery and UEFA Young Champions tournament to bring fans across the world closer to the passion and excitement of our competition."

City display
In each country, the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour will be launched to the media and fans. The trophy will then be the centrepiece of a display in the city centre, supported by five pillars containing competition memorabilia, statistics and video footage giving local fans the opportunity to find out more about the tournament and be pictured with the silverware. According to recent research, interest in the UEFA Champions League is actually higher in Indonesia than in any other sampled country, including the top six in Europe.