Pro Soccer's Grand Prize Makes a Stop in Newark Monday

Hundreds of millions of soccer fans around the world will be dreaming of the FIFA World Cup Trophy when the game’s next global championship is played in 2014 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

On Monday, hundreds of Newarkers -- including more than a few Brazilian-Americans -- got a sneak peek at the small gold statue.

The trophy was on display at the union hall of Local 472 on Raymond Boulevard in the Ironbound, where individual soccer fans as well as entire families waited in line for up to two hours to have their picture taken next to the sport’s most coveted prize. A Brazilian samba band played while “Fuleco,” the official 2014 World Cup mascot, circulated among the crowd.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime  experience. I’ve only seen it on TV. You never get to see it this close,” said Henery Nejia, who was there with his three sons, all players in the Ironbound Soccer Club, which organizers say is the largest inner-city youth soccer league in the nation.

The, 14.5-inch, 13.6-pound trophy is on a short tour arranged by Johnson & Johnson, the New Brunswick-based pharmaceutical company and a sponsor of the World Cup. The trophy has already been displayed at the company’s headquarters and in Houston, said Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson.

The company is tying its sponsorship of the world’s biggest sporting event with a broader initiative to encourage healthy habits and exercise, especially among the young, said Michael Sneed, a Johnson & Johnson vice-president.

“Our sponsorship is consistent with our support for the health and well-being of families around the world,” Sneed said.

Other speakers picked up that theme, including Claudio Reyna, a former standout midfielder at St. Benedict’s Prep who went on to become the first American to captain a European team.

Reyna also acknowledged the significance the location of next year’s World Cup has to many Ironbound residents.

“Being of Argentine background, this isn’t easy for me to admit, but the Brazilians are the kings of soccer,” Reyna said.

“It’s not a coincidence that the World Cup trophy comes through the Ironbound. We have the largest Brazilian community in the United States,” said East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador.