The World Cup Trophy: From Jules Rimet to the FIFA World Cup

The World Cup trophy: a brief history

The World Cup trophy has had two distinct physical forms across the tournament''s 95-year history. The original Jules Rimet trophy, awarded from 1930 to 1970, was permanently retained by Brazil after the country''s third tournament win in Mexico. The current FIFA World Cup Trophy, designed by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga and first presented in 1974, has been awarded at every subsequent tournament. Both trophies have stories that include theft, recovery and unanswered mysteries; the original Jules Rimet was stolen twice (recovered once, lost permanently the second time), and the current trophy''s value is regularly estimated in millions of pounds, making it one of the most-secured single sporting artefacts in the world.

The Jules Rimet trophy

The original World Cup trophy was commissioned by FIFA in 1929 from the French sculptor Abel Lafleur. The 35-centimetre-tall statuette depicted the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, holding an octagonal vessel above her head. The trophy was made of sterling silver, plated in gold, and mounted on a base of lapis lazuli. The total weight was 3.8 kilograms.

The original name was the Coupe du Monde (World Cup). FIFA renamed it the Coupe Jules Rimet in 1946 in honour of the long-serving FIFA president Jules Rimet, the French administrator who had been the principal advocate for the founding of the World Cup competition. Rimet served as FIFA president from 1921 to 1954.

The trophy''s wartime history was dramatic. During the Second World War, Italian football administrator Ottorino Barassi (the FIFA vice-president) hid the trophy under his bed in Rome, in a shoebox, for the duration of the conflict, preventing its requisition by Nazi German occupying forces. The trophy was returned to FIFA in 1946 and presented to the 1950 winners (Uruguay).

The 1966 theft and Pickles

The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen for the first time on 20 March 1966, four months before the World Cup in England was due to start. The trophy had been on public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall in London as part of the Stanley Gibbons stamp exhibition. A man entered the exhibition during the lunch break, prised open the display case, and removed the trophy. A subsequent ransom demand for £15,000 was made by a man called Edward Betchley, who was arrested but never charged with the actual theft itself.

The trophy was recovered on 27 March 1966 by Pickles, a black-and-white border collie owned by 26-year-old David Corbett of Norwood, south London. Pickles found the trophy wrapped in a parcel beside a hedge in Beulah Hill while on an evening walk. Corbett received a £6,000 reward from the trophy''s insurer; Pickles received a year''s worth of dog food from the manufacturer Spillers and was named Dog of the Year.

Bobby Moore lifted the recovered trophy at Wembley four months later, after England''s 4-2 final win over West Germany. The dramatic recovery and subsequent English triumph have produced one of the most-celebrated single chapters in World Cup history.

The 1970 permanent retention

FIFA''s 1929 founding rule had been that any nation winning the World Cup three times would permanently retain the Jules Rimet trophy. Brazil''s third trophy win at the 1970 finals in Mexico, after the 1958 trophy in Sweden and the 1962 trophy in Chile, triggered the rule. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) took permanent possession of the trophy after the 1970 tournament; FIFA commissioned a replacement.

The Jules Rimet remained in CBF custody at the federation''s Rio de Janeiro headquarters for 13 years. The trophy was on public display at the federation''s building, behind bullet-proof glass, until 19 December 1983.

The 1983 theft

The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen for the second time on 19 December 1983 from the CBF''s Rio de Janeiro headquarters. Three or four men entered the building, tied up the night security guard, and removed the trophy from its display case. The bullet-proof glass had reportedly been replaced years earlier with conventional glass, although the federation has subsequently disputed this.

The trophy has never been recovered. The principal theory, backed by Brazilian police investigations, is that the gold and silver content was melted down within days of the theft. Four Brazilian men were eventually arrested and convicted; only one served a meaningful prison sentence. The Brazilian federation commissioned a full-size replica from Eastman Kodak after the theft, which is now displayed at the federation''s São Paulo museum. The original trophy is presumed permanently lost.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy

FIFA''s replacement trophy was commissioned in 1971. The selection process produced 53 designs from sculptors across seven countries; Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga''s design was selected. Gazzaniga''s vision depicted two human figures holding the world up, described by the sculptor as "the lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world... I felt it should be a moment of victory".

The new trophy is 36.8 centimetres tall and weighs 6.175 kilograms. It is made of solid 18-carat gold, with two layers of malachite at the base. The total gold content is approximately 4.97 kilograms; the trophy''s materials value is estimated in the low six figures, with its insured value substantially higher (the most-recent FIFA-disclosed insurance value, in 2018, was approximately $20 million).

The new trophy was first presented to the 1974 winners (West Germany) at the Olympiastadion in Munich. It has been presented at every subsequent tournament. The original is held permanently by FIFA in Zurich; the winning nation receives a gold-plated replica at the closing ceremony.

The trophy''s engraved nations

The base of the FIFA World Cup Trophy includes engraved plates listing the names of every winning nation. The plates are added at the tournament closing ceremony immediately before presentation. As of the 2022 tournament, the engraved nations include:

• 1974: West Germany
• 1978: Argentina
• 1982: Italy
• 1986: Argentina
• 1990: West Germany
• 1994: Brazil
• 1998: France
• 2002: Brazil
• 2006: Italy
• 2010: Spain
• 2014: Germany
• 2018: France
• 2022: Argentina

The original Jules Rimet plates (1930-1970) are on the recovered trophy in CBF custody (the replica produced in 1984), and on photographic records held by FIFA. The original Jules Rimet itself is presumed lost.

The trophy tour

FIFA has operated a "trophy tour" for each World Cup since the 2006 finals in Germany. The tour visits qualifying and host nations across the year before the tournament, with public exhibition opportunities at federation headquarters and major sporting events. The 2026 trophy tour visited 36 host cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2025, alongside qualifying-nation visits across CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC and OFC territories.

The tour uses the original FIFA World Cup Trophy. Security arrangements are extensive; FIFA has not publicly disclosed the precise insurance arrangements but the trophy is reportedly accompanied by armed security at every public appearance.

The 2026 trophy

The 2026 winners will receive the same FIFA World Cup Trophy that has been awarded at every tournament since 1974. The trophy will be engraved with the winning nation''s name during the closing ceremony at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on 19 July 2026. The winners will lift the original trophy at the ceremony before being presented with a gold-plated replica to keep; the original returns to FIFA''s permanent custody in Zurich after the broadcast images have been captured.

The Coupe Jules Rimet and early trophy history

The original World Cup trophy, the Coupe Jules Rimet (named after FIFA's founder), was used from 1930 to 1970. The trophy was designed by Abel Lafleur, a French sculptor, and featured Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holding the World Cup. The trophy's height was 36 centimetres and it weighed approximately 3.8 kilograms. The Jules Rimet trophy was awarded to the tournament winners and was held by the champion nation until the next tournament. Uruguay retained the original trophy for the year following their 1930 victory, and the tradition of holding the trophy continued through subsequent tournaments.

The Jules Rimet trophy became a symbol of football's most prestigious competition. Its design and presence at the final presentation became iconic elements of World Cup ceremony. The trophy had a notable security history: it was famously stolen in 1966, two weeks before the England vs West Germany final, and recovered after a dog named Pickles found it in a hedge near London. The theft, recovery and subsequent public interest created what some historians regard as the first major mass-media sports event of the modern era.

The 1983 theft and Brazil's tripartite custody

In 1983, the original Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil held the trophy in perpetuity after winning their third World Cup in 1970, under a FIFA rule allowing the winning nation to retain the trophy permanently. The theft occurred during Brazil's period of custody, and the trophy was never recovered. The loss meant that FIFA had to create a replica (made from an original mould) for presentation purposes. The mystery of the trophy's disappearance remains unsolved, though various theories and investigations have been conducted.

The loss of the original Jules Rimet trophy led FIFA to commission a new trophy for the 1974 tournament, the modern FIFA World Cup Trophy that remains in use today (with the original mould preserved for ceremonial replicas).

The modern FIFA World Cup Trophy

The FIFA World Cup Trophy, commissioned in 1974, was designed by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga. The trophy stands 36.8 centimetres tall and weighs 6.1 kilograms. Unlike the Jules Rimet, which depicted Nike, the new trophy shows two human figures supporting the Earth, symbolising the universality of the competition. The base of the trophy is made of semi-precious stone (malachite), and the figures are cast in 18-karat gold.

The trophy is not permanently held by winning nations. Instead, FIFA retains the original and awards a permanent replica to the champion nation, displayed in the nation's football federation headquarters. A replica of the trophy is used for ceremonial purposes and public display, while the original is held at FIFA headquarters. This approach protects the trophy from damage or theft. Each winning nation's name is engraved on the base, with space for future engraving providing a visual record of the tournament's winners from 1974 onwards.

Reading on

For more on the tournament''s history, see our long-reads on the 1930 World Cup, the 1966 trophy theft, and the 1970 final and permanent retention. The World Cup history hub covers every tournament from 1930 to 2026.