English Premiership trophy arrives in Lagos

Fans of the Barclays English Premier League will today get the opportunity to see the much coveted trophy, won last season by London’s Chelsea Football Club.

The tour presents the fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Premier League as the Schools Tour opens its doors in Lagos.

The free family-friendly interactive experience is in Lagos for the second time in four years after its maiden visit in 2011. The Trophy will be in Lagos for only two days before continuing on a busy schedule.

According to organisers of the tour, the visit gives supporters the chance to learn about the trophy, which stands at three foot five inches tall and 24 inches wide with a total weight of four stone.

The base of the trophy accounts for two and a half stone alone.   The trophy was cast by Asprey and Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, the main body of the trophy is made from solid sterling silver. The crown is cast from 24 carat silver gilt, to a depth of half a millimetre.

The base of the trophy is made from Malacite, a semi-previous stone found in Africa. The green colour of the opaque stone represents the field of play.

The design of the trophy is based on the theme of ‘The Three Lions of English Football’. Two of the lions can be found above the handles on either side of the trophy.

When the captain of the title winning team raises the trophy (and its gold crown) above his head at the end of the season, he becomes the third lion.’

EPL is the biggest continuous annual global sporting event in the world, with the global audience growing each year – every match-day is broadcast to more than 580million households in over 200 countries.   It will be recalled that the trophy toured three African countries in 2011. Aside Nigeria, the trophy stopped over in Kenya and Ghana.