Scotland native Joe Pierce was an early FCIAC soccer star at Stamford’s Rippowam High School. He is a long-time area resident, a former Staples High School assistant coach, and producer of a film about legendary English star Sir Stanley Matthews.
He’s led quite a life, and has the stories to prove it. But this may be his best ever. With the first match of the 2026 World Cup just 5 days away, Joe writes:
In December 1991, while preparations were underway for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the US, New York hosted the preliminary qualifying draw at Madison Square Garden.
That event set the stage for one of the most unlikely small-town soccer stories Weston, Connecticut, can ever claim.
At the time I was part of the 1994 New York Bid Committee. I also helped host the qualifying draw in New York. FIFA brought the World Cup trophy to the city for that event.
Then came an unexpected request. Rather than leave the trophy in a hotel, FIFA asked me to look after it for a couple of days.
So, for a brief stretch, the most famous prize in world sport made its way from Manhattan to my home in Weston.
The World Cup trophy is no ordinary object. The current one — introduced in 1974 — stands 1 foot 2 inches tall, weighs 13.6 pounds, and is made of 18-carat gold with malachite bands on its base.
FIFA keeps the original trophy under its control. Winners receive a replica.
That is what makes the memory so striking. Today, the trophy is handled under tight security, and is surrounded by layers of ceremony.
In 1991 though, there was still enough trust and informality for it to spend a couple of quiet days in suburban Connecticut.
Joe Pierce in Weston, with the World Cup trophy.
I decided to share the moment in the best possible way. I invited my 8-year-old son’s Weston youth soccer team over for a photograph with the real World Cup trophy.
Somewhere, those pictures still exist.
The children in them are adults now, scattered all around the world and living their own lives.
But each photograph preserves a story that would be almost impossible today: a group of local kids in Weston, Connecticut, standing with the real FIFA World Cup trophy.
Then and now, they are able to say that for one unforgettable moment, the World Cup came to their town.
(“06880” is where Westport meets the world — and Weston meets the World Cup. If you enjoy this story — or anything else on our hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thanks!)
