The FIFA World Cup Trophy has become the most sought after and recognised sporting prize in the world and holds a universal appeal that is unique to the sport of football. However, the current trophy is actually the second generation of the coveted prize. (More Football News)
The first trophy – named the Jules Rimet Cup in 1946 in honour of the founding father of the FIFA World Cup – was commissioned from French sculptor Abel Lafleur by FIFA. The trophy was a depiction of the goddess of victory holding an octagonal vessel above her head, produced in gold with a base of semi-precious stones.
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The first trophy, originally named Victory, but later renamed in honour of former FIFA president Jules Rimet, was made of gold plated sterling silver and lapis lazuli and depicted Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Brazil won the trophy outright in 1970, prompting the commissioning of a replacement. The original Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in 1983 and never recovered.
During World War II, the trophy was held by 1938 champion Italy. Ottorino Barassi, the Italian vice-president of FIFA and president of FIGC, secretly transported the trophy from a bank in Rome and hid it in a shoe-box under his bed to prevent Adolf Hitler and the Nazis from taking it. The 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden marked the beginning of a tradition regarding the trophy.
As Brazilian captain Hilderaldo Bellini heard photographers' requests for a better view of the Jules Rimet Trophy, he lifted it up in the air. Every Cup-winning captain ever since has repeated the gesture. In the early 1970s, FIFA commissioned a new trophy for the tenth FIFA World Cup, which was to take place in 1974. Fifty-three designs were submitted to FIFA by experts from seven countries, with Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga’s work ultimately winning the vote.
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The authentic, one-of-a-kind FIFA World Cup Trophy is 36.8 cm (14.5 inches) tall, weighs in at 6.142 kg (13.54 pounds), and is made of 18-carat gold. The base contains two layers of semi- precious malachite while the underside of the trophy is engraved with the year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. Following the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the vertical alignment of the champions’ engraved names needed to be redesigned to fit future title holders.
The list of world champions since 1974 was therefore rearranged into a spiral to accommodate the names of the winners of future editions of the tournament. Germany became the first nation to win the new trophy for the third time when they won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The original FIFA World Cup Trophy cannot be won outright anymore, as the new regulations state that it shall remain in FIFA's possession. Instead, the FIFA World Cup winners are awarded a replica which they get to keep as a permanent reminder of their great triumph. The gold-plated replica is referred to as the FIFA World Cup Winners’ Trophy.
