Football World Cup The Most Wanted Trophy

Football World Cup: The Most Wanted Trophy

Summary: The World Cup is a small gold trophy representing the hopes and ambitions of every footballing nation on earth. Since the advent of the World Cup in , there have been two trophies awarded to the winners.The Jules Rimet Trophy was the original prize for winning the World Cup. Originally called simply the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, it was renamed in to honour the FIFA President Jules Rimet who in passed a vote to initiate the competition. Designed by Abel Lafle...

world cup, soccer, foorball, fifa

Article Body: The World Cup is a small gold trophy representing the hopes and ambitions of every footballing nation on earth. Since the advent of the World Cup in , there have been two trophies awarded to the winners.The Jules Rimet Trophy was the original prize for winning the World Cup. Originally called simply the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, it was renamed in to honour the FIFA President Jules Rimet who in passed a vote to initiate the competition. Designed by Abel Lafleur and made of gold plated sterling silver on a blue base of lapis lazuli, it stood cm high and weighed . kg. It was in the shape of an octagonal cup, supported by a winged figure representing Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory.

During World War II, the trophy was held by Italy. Ottorino Barassi, the Italian vice-president of FIFA, hid it from the Germans in a shoe-box under his bed.

Just before the World Cup Final in England the trophy was stolen during a public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall, but was found just seven days later, wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in Norwood, South London, by a dog named "Pickles". As a security measure, FIFA secretly manufactured a replica of the trophy for use in the post-match celebrations. The replica was also used on subsequent occasions until . The replica was sold at an auction in for $,.There were many replicas on eBay at that time.

The Brazilian team won the trophy for the third time in , and were rewarded by being allowed to keep it in perpetuity. However, the cup was stolen again in in Rio de Janeiro and never recovered; it may have been melted down. The Brazilian Football Confederation commissioned a replica of their own.

The replacement trophy, officially known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was first presented at the World Cup. Designed by Silvio Gazzaniga, it stands cm tall and is made of kg of carat (%) solid gold with a base containing two layers of malachite, and depicts two human figures holding up the Earth. The name of the country whose national team wins the tournament is engraved, together with the year, in the bottom side of the trophy. It is not known whether FIFA will retire the trophy after all of the name plaques at the base are filled in; this will occur after the World Cup.

FIFA's regulations now state that the trophy, unlike its predecessor, cannot be won outright: the winners of the tournament receive it on loan for four years and receive a replica to keep.