THE WORLD CUP TROPHY

WOZA SA 2010 WOZA
JULES RIMET TROPHY

The first ever World Cup Trophy is now known as the Jules Rimet Trophy. The Trophy was originally called “Victory” but was commonly known as “Coupe de Monde” (French) or World Cup. The Trophy was renamed in 1946 to the Jules Rimet Trophy in honour of FIFA President Jules Rimet of France who was instrumental in getting the World Cup competition started.
The Trophy was designed by Abel Lafleur. It was made of gold plated sterling silver on a blue-base of lapis lazuli (rare precious stone). It was 35 cm high and weighed 3.8 kilograms. The trophy was an octagonal cup, supported by a Winged Figure representing Nike, The ancient Greek Goddess of Victory.
The Lues Rimet Trophy made it’s first journey on board the Conte Verde which travelled from Europe to Uruguay in 1930 where it was presented to hosts Uruguay as the first ever World Cup Champions.
In 1938, Italy won the World Cup and held the trophy. During World War II, Ottorinno Barasi, The Italian Vice President of FIFA, hid the trophy in a shoe box under his bed to prevent the trophy being lost forever.
Just prior to the 1966 World Cup, The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from an exhibition in England. After a nationwide search for the trophy, it was finally found by a dog called Pickles. As a security measure a replica was created to be used in celebrations and exhibitions. This trophy is now displayed at the English National Football Museum.
After the 1970 World Cup, Brazil who were champions had won the competition 3 times were given the honour of keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy forever as was stipulated back in 1930 by Jules Rimet himself. The trophy was however stolen in 1983 from the Brazilian football headquarters. It was never recovered and it is believed that it was melted down, although 4 suspects were tried and convicted for the theft. The confederation created a replica of their own made out of 1.8 kgs of gold and presented it to the Brazilian President in 1984. The Original Jules Rimet Trophy’s whereabouts are unknown till today.
WORLD CUP TROPHY

The replacement trophy to the Jules Rimet Trophy retired in 1970 is simply known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy. It was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and produced by Bertoni Milano. It is 36.5 cm high and is made of 5kg of 18 carat solid gold. It’s base is 5.1 inches in diameter and the trophy weighs a total of 6.2 kilograms. The trophy has a visible engraving of “FIFA WORLD CUP” near the base.
Each of the winners names are engraved on the bottom side of the trophy. The Year and Name of Winner are Engraved eg, 2006 Italy. There are currently 9 winners of the above trophy. It is not yet decided when and if the trophy will be retired once all the name of winners fill the bottom up completely. This is only due to occur in 2038. FIFA’s regulations state that no one nation can win the trophy outright. However replica’s made out of gold plating (Not Solid Gold) are given to the winners.
The first time the New FIFA World Cup Trophy was presented was in Germany 1974 where the hosts WEST Germany won. Captain Franz Beckenbauer received the trophy. Just before the 2006 World Cup the trophy was sent back to Italy for restoration. After Italy, the current defending champions won the World Cup in 2006, it appears that the trophy was broken, as World Cup Winning Captain Fabio Cannavaro is pictured holding a piece of the green malachite base which had broken off the trophy. This has been glued back into place.
Who will be the next nation to hold aloft the FIFA World Cup Trophy?
Galactico