The World Cup Trophy Tour: Secrets and Anxiety in the Jakarta Sky

"This is our most stressful trip. Southeast Asia's weather is always unpredictable," said a FIFA delegate on the World Cup trophy tour in Jakarta. He made this statement to Kompas and PSSI Deputy Chair Ratu Tisha after the Airbus A320 landed at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, on Thursday afternoon (January 22, 2026).

Kompas was among the approximately 40 people who boarded a Titan Airways chartered plane for the World Cup trophy tour ahead of the 2026 edition. FIFA, along with its partner, Coca-Cola, has entrusted Titan Airways to transport the trophy, designed by Italian company GDE Bertoni, around the world since 2018.

The Airbus A320 aircraft that Kompas boarded from Subang International Airport, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was already in use ahead of the 2022 World Cup. In 2018, the aircraft used was a Boeing 737.

Despite being in business class, Kompas and the other guests, including Tisha, President of The Coca-Cola Company Southeast Asia and South Pacific Selman Careaga, and President Director of Coca-Cola Indonesia Eva Lusiana, were unable to see the trophy directly during the trip which took about three hours.

Enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of flying with the World Cup trophy. Don't ask where the trophy is. What is certain is that the trophy is somewhere on this plane.

The placement of the World Cup trophy was known only to a select few FIFA teams and FIFA legends involved in the journey. In Malaysia and Indonesia, Gilberto Silva, the 2002 World Cup winner with the Brazilian national team, was appointed as the custodian of the 18-carat gold-plated trophy.

Similar to a trophy, Silva also occupies a special seating zone while in the air. He is not in the business or economy class occupied by other FIFA staff. There is a special room at the very back of the plane designated for Silva.

"Enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of flying with the World Cup trophy. Don't ask where the trophy is. What is certain is that the trophy is somewhere on this plane," said another FIFA staff member who welcomed the guests before takeoff, smiling.

Following the journey from Malaysia to pick up the World Cup trophy, Kompas only had the opportunity to meet the iconic trophy when it was displayed at Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

The placement of the trophy in the hotel is also highly confidential. The trophy, which has been used since the 1974 World Cup, is always accompanied by two special guards. This number does not include the five private security personnel who accompany the five FIFA team members assigned to oversee the trophy.

The trophy was brought specifically to board the plane at Subang International Airport. It did not stop briefly at the VIP lounge before boarding the aircraft. A similar condition was also applied to Silva.

Upon landing in Jakarta, the trophy and Silva were the last group to disembark. They waited for the atmosphere to be completely conducive, particularly ensuring that no cameras were capturing images and videos during the process of unloading the trophy from the aircraft.

Although the World Cup trophy is still enclosed in a one-meter-high case and covered with black cloth, it is prohibited for foreigners to take photos of the trophy.

"Please let them know that we do not want any cameras," said the FIFA delegation, who previously shared their impressions of landing for quite some time at Halim Perdanakusuma. He was referring to the photographers and airport staff who were taking pictures of the aircraft's arrival with mobile phones.

Two motorcycles and one escort car accompanied the journey of the World Cup trophy and Silva from Halim Perdanakusuma to the Jakarta International Convention Center (JICC), the venue for the trophy tour event in Jakarta.

Upon arriving at Plenary Hall A JICC, the trophy inside the case was immediately taken to the naratama room, which could only be accessed by Silva and a small FIFA team consisting of no more than 10 individuals.

Landing the World Cup trophy is no easy task. In order to visit Jakarta for the fourth time after 2006, 2010, and 2014, the aircraft carrying the trophy circled around the skies of Halim Perdanakusuma for more than an hour. The journey, which was initially scheduled to last two hours, extended to three hours.

The delay in the duration of air travel was only experienced during this year's tour series. At the 10 previous visit points, the journey proceeded without significant obstacles.

Heavy rain accompanying Jakarta on Thursday caused pilots to reconsider landing on time. They had attempted to land, but the pilots decided to ascend again due to the rain limiting visibility.

A tense and anxious atmosphere was experienced by the passengers. The intense vibrations endured for more than an hour caused the passengers to attempt to doze off while reciting prayers that came to mind.

"I wanted to move right, but I was wrong, and left, but I was wrong. I was reciting prayers," said Tisha.

When the pilot successfully made a smooth landing, a thunderous applause erupted from all the passengers, including Careaga, who was responsible for the tour agenda in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Several FIFA delegations agreed that their journey in Indonesia was the most thrilling they have experienced. The majority of the FIFA teams have been on the journey since the starting point in Asia, which began in Delhi, India.

They have already visited Delhi and Guwahati in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Seoul in South Korea, Tokyo in Japan, Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, and Jakarta. The team continued their journey to Bangkok, Thailand; Almaty, Kazakhstan; and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The composition of the different FIFA team will continue the trophy tour in Africa, Western Europe, and Central America from January 31 to February 14.

Answering Kompas' questions in a special interview session that was also attended by three other media outlets, Silva said the World Cup trophy is one of the greatest symbols in the world of sport.

The grandeur of the trophy, said Silva, represents the massive influence of the World Cup on human life around the globe. People are willing to halt other activities to watch the matches and set aside money to directly support their favorite teams and players.

"When I unveiled the (covering curtain) trophy in Indonesia, I saw the emotions in the eyes of the people looking at this trophy. It was very impressive and also inspiring to me," said Silva.

"This is what always motivates me and will continue to make me an ambassador for football. It has brought my life to this point. I can influence others not only in Brazil but also around the world," he continued.

Although the Indonesian national team has yet to compete in the World Cup, and the number of Indonesians who have been able to hold the trophy directly has not increased, Indonesia can take pride in having welcomed the World Cup trophy four times, similar to Malaysia and Thailand in the Southeast Asian region.

Whether it is a sin or not to dream that the Indonesian national team can lift the World Cup trophy. At the very least, there are those who continue the experience of the sixth President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the Vice President for the periods of 2004–2009 and 2014–2019, Jusuf Kalla, who were able to hold that iconic trophy directly.