Marlena Frankovic once travelled all the way to South Africa to volunteer at the biggest sporting event on earth — the World Cup. So when she found out the women's prize would be on display a mere 45 minutes down the road it was a no-brainer.

She was making that trip.

"I've always been a huge soccer fan," said the 30-year-old Mississauga resident. "It's just my thing, a passion."

Frankovic was one of hundreds who headed to Lime Ridge Mall Wednesday to snap a photo with the holy grail of women's soccer — a 10-pound gold-plated trophy which is criss-crossing the country in the lead up to the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The tour was designed to build excitement and raise awareness in advance of the month-long competition, which kicks off June 6 in half a dozen cities across Canada.

"We want to inspire people to play football — to keep on playing, or maybe to start," said FIFA's Jan Schetters, whose association partnered with Coca-Cola on the promotion.

And so far, the response has been pretty great.

Although the Hamilton stopover was among the more modest on the two-month tour, it nonetheless attracted droves of devotees and curious shoppers. For many of them — Frankovic included — the prize was the primary draw.

"You see a lot of different people from very young to very old and they seem to be delighted," Schetters added.

The trophy's journey, which started in Ottawa and meandered to Halifax and back, comes to an end in Vancouver May 31.

Vienna Garofalo laced up her first pair of soccer cleats at just four years old. Now 19, the Stoney Creek native said she saw the event on Facebook and couldn't resist.

"It's really interesting to see because when someone wins it, it's a part of history," she said after posing beside the glass-encased award. "It's a really big deal."

Eric Panicucci agreed.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

"It's excellent," said the central Mountain resident. "I think they should do this type of stuff more often.

"It's a sport that needs to be more advertised and more out there."