🏆 THE TROPHY: GOLD, THEFT & GLORY
PAGE 1 OF 5 — THE MOST COVETED OBJECT IN SPORT
THE PRIZE ABOVE ALL PRIZES
EIGHTEEN CARATS OF PURE GLORY
Every footballer on the planet dreams of lifting the World Cup trophy. It is the most recognised object in sport and the single greatest prize a team can win. The current trophy, which has been awarded since 1974, is made from solid eighteen-carat gold and weighs six point one seven five kilograms, more than a large bag of sugar. It stands thirty-six point eight centimetres tall, about as high as a standard ruler and a half, and shows two human figures holding up the Earth. Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga designed it and described it as representing the exultation of victory. FIFA is so protective of the real trophy that only certain people are even allowed to touch it. World Cup winners and current heads of state may hold it. Everybody else gets a gold-plated replica, not the genuine article. The real trophy lives in a guarded vault at FIFA headquarters in Zurich and travels to the World Cup under enormous security. Of all the objects that football has produced in over a hundred and fifty years of history, nothing comes close to the power and magic of this golden cup.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
Only World Cup winners and sitting heads of state are permitted to hold the real FIFA World Cup trophy. Everyone else, including runners-up, receives a gold-plated replica.
GOLD!
THE SPECS
🥇 18-carat solid gold throughout
⚖️ 6.175 kg, heavier than a house brick
📐 36.8 cm tall, designed by Silvio Gazzaniga
⚖️ 6.175 kg, heavier than a house brick
📐 36.8 cm tall, designed by Silvio Gazzaniga
WHO CAN TOUCH IT
🤝 Winners and heads of state only
🏦 Real trophy kept in a vault in Zurich
🥈 Everyone else gets a gold-plated replica
🏦 Real trophy kept in a vault in Zurich
🥈 Everyone else gets a gold-plated replica
PAGE 2 OF 5 — THE JULES RIMET TROPHY
THE ORIGINAL CUP
THE TROPHY THAT STARTED IT ALL
The very first World Cup trophy was called the Jules Rimet Cup, named after the French FIFA president who created the tournament. French sculptor Abel Lafleur designed it and it was made from gold-plated sterling silver with a figure of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on top. It was much smaller and lighter than the current trophy and had a very different look, more like an ornate decorative vase than the clean modern design we know today. The original trophy had an extraordinary travelling history. During the Second World War it was hidden to keep it safe from occupying forces: Italian football official Ottorino Barassi reportedly hid it in a shoe box under his bed to protect it. The trophy was awarded to the World Cup winners from 1930 onwards, with each champion nation taking it home temporarily until the next tournament. There was a special rule written into the competition: any nation that won the World Cup three times would keep the trophy permanently. Brazil achieved this feat in 1970 and took the cup home to Rio de Janeiro for good. But the trophy's story was far from over.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
During World War Two, Italian football official Ottorino Barassi hid the Jules Rimet trophy in a shoe box under his bed to protect it from being seized by occupying forces.
ORIGINAL!
THE DESIGN
🏛️ Nike the victory goddess on top
🥈 Gold-plated sterling silver
📜 Named after FIFA president Jules Rimet
🥈 Gold-plated sterling silver
📜 Named after FIFA president Jules Rimet
THE WAR
🛡️ Hidden in a shoe box during World War Two
🏠 Kept under an official's bed for safety
✅ Survived the war completely intact
🏠 Kept under an official's bed for safety
✅ Survived the war completely intact
BRAZIL WINS IT
🇧🇷 Brazil won 3 times: 1958, 1962, 1970
📜 Three wins meant keeping it forever
🏠 Taken home to Rio de Janeiro in 1970
📜 Three wins meant keeping it forever
🏠 Taken home to Rio de Janeiro in 1970
PAGE 3 OF 5 — STOLEN! PICKLES TO THE RESCUE
THE THEFT
🚨 Stolen from a London exhibition, March 1966
📦 Taken from a locked display case
😱 Police searched everywhere, no luck
📦 Taken from a locked display case
😱 Police searched everywhere, no luck
PICKLES!
🐶 Pickles the dog sniffed it out in a hedge
🗞️ Wrapped in newspaper under a garden bush
🦸 His owner Dave Corbett got a £6,000 reward
🗞️ Wrapped in newspaper under a garden bush
🦸 His owner Dave Corbett got a £6,000 reward
ENGLAND 1966
THE DOG WHO SAVED THE WORLD CUP
Just four months before England were due to host the 1966 World Cup, the Jules Rimet trophy was put on display at a stamp exhibition in London. It was kept inside a locked glass cabinet with four screws holding the case shut. On Sunday the twentieth of March 1966, guards discovered the cabinet had been broken into overnight and the trophy was gone. The theft caused national panic. The police launched one of the biggest searches in British sporting history, a ransom demand was made and investigated, but the trophy could not be found. Then, one week later, a man named David Corbett was walking his black and white mongrel dog named Pickles when the dog began sniffing furiously at a hedge in a residential street in Norwood, south London. Pickles pulled at a package wrapped in newspaper lying under the bush, and when Corbett unwrapped it, he found himself holding the World Cup. The trophy was returned to the authorities, England held the tournament as planned, and won it on home soil in the famous final. Pickles became a celebrity, attending the England winners banquet and even getting his own fan mail. He appeared in a film called The Spy with a Cold Nose and got a year's supply of dog food as a reward.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
After finding the trophy, Pickles the dog became famous across Britain. He received fan mail, attended England's World Cup winners banquet, and starred in a feature film.
WOOF!
PAGE 4 OF 5 — STOLEN AGAIN AND A NEW TROPHY
TWO TROPHIES, TWO CRIMES
THE CUP THAT VANISHED FOREVER
After Brazil permanently won the Jules Rimet trophy in 1970, FIFA commissioned a brand new cup for the 1974 World Cup onwards. Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga won the design competition and created the trophy we know today: two human figures holding the Earth aloft, cast in solid eighteen-carat gold. Meanwhile the Jules Rimet trophy, now in Brazil's permanent possession, suffered a far worse fate than its 1966 theft. In December 1983 it was stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, where it had been displayed in a glass cabinet. Despite an extensive investigation, the trophy was never recovered. Experts believe the thieves almost certainly melted it down and sold the gold. A replica stands in its place today at the Brazilian Football Museum. The new FIFA World Cup trophy has never suffered a similar fate. It is guarded intensely, travels in secret, and a reinforced gold-plated replica is used for most appearances. The real trophy only emerges for the final ceremony itself, when the winning captain lifts it in front of the watching world, the moment every player and fan lives for.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from Brazil in 1983 and never recovered. It is widely believed the thieves melted it down for the gold, destroying the world's most famous sporting trophy forever.
GONE!
1974 NEW DESIGN
✨ New trophy introduced for 1974 West Germany
🌍 Two figures holding the Earth
🥇 Solid 18-carat gold, no plating
🌍 Two figures holding the Earth
🥇 Solid 18-carat gold, no plating
STOLEN IN BRAZIL
🔓 Jules Rimet stolen from Brazil in 1983
❌ Never found, believed to be melted
🏛️ A replica now stands in its place
❌ Never found, believed to be melted
🏛️ A replica now stands in its place
THE VAULT
🔐 Real trophy locked in FIFA HQ in Zurich
🚗 Travels to finals under heavy security
🥈 Replica used for all other appearances
🚗 Travels to finals under heavy security
🥈 Replica used for all other appearances
PAGE 5 OF 5 — WHY THE TROPHY MATTERS
THE MEANING
MORE THAN JUST A PIECE OF METAL
Why does a piece of shaped gold mean so much to so many people? The World Cup trophy is not just a decoration. It is a symbol that represents the absolute peak of human sporting achievement and the effort of millions of people across years of training, sacrifice, and dedication. When a captain raises the trophy at the end of the final, the moment is being shared by everyone who taught them to kick a ball, everyone who washed their kit, every coach who stayed late, every fan who believed. The six-kilogram weight of solid gold is, in a sense, the weight of all those dreams combined. Children who see that moment on television often decide at that very instant that they want to be a footballer. The stories around the trophy, the theft, Pickles the dog, the wartime shoe box, and the lost Rimet cup, make it even more extraordinary. Objects that have adventures become legendary, and this one has had more adventures than almost anything else in sport. When the 2026 trophy is lifted in New York or Los Angeles at the end of the final, it will carry nearly a century of stories with it.
LIFT IT!
TROPHY FACTS
🐶 Found by Pickles the dog in 1966
🛡️ Survived two thefts and a world war
🏆 Real trophy lifted only at the final ceremony
🛡️ Survived two thefts and a world war
🏆 Real trophy lifted only at the final ceremony
REMEMBER
🏆 KEY FACTS
The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in 1966 and found by a dog named Pickles. Brazil won it permanently in 1970. The new solid gold trophy was introduced in 1974 and weighs 6.175 kg. The original trophy was stolen again in 1983 and never found.
✨ Current trophy: 18-carat solid gold
🔐 Only champions may touch the real one
🌍 Two figures holding the Earth on top
🔐 Only champions may touch the real one
🌍 Two figures holding the Earth on top
🧠 QUIZ TIME!
THE TROPHY: GOLD, THEFT & GLORY · 5 QUESTIONS
QUESTION 01
What is the current FIFA World Cup trophy made from?
QUESTION 02
What was the name of the dog who found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966?
QUESTION 03
Why did Brazil get to keep the Jules Rimet trophy permanently in 1970?
QUESTION 04
What happened to the Jules Rimet trophy after it was stolen from Brazil in 1983?
QUESTION 05
Who is allowed to hold the real FIFA World Cup trophy?
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