From the Jules Rimet Trophy stolen in London and later lost in Brazil, to the modern FIFA World Cup Trophy guarded by FIFA, football’s greatest prize has had a stranger life than many fans realise. It is a small object compared with the size of the moment, but no prize in football carries more meaning. Just ask Pickles.
For England fans, the Jules Rimet still gleams in memory of those over 70. But by 2026, the wait since Bobby Moore lifted the trophy in 1966 World Cup win has become 60 years of hurt for England’s only ever major trophy. And yes, it really has been 30 years since Three Lions first came out.
The World Cup trophy story is not a single unbroken line. The men’s tournament has had two main trophies: the original Jules Rimet Trophy, used from 1930 to 1970, and the current FIFA World Cup Trophy, first awarded in 1974. The women’s tournament has its own prize, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy, whose current version was first presented in 1999. FIFA Museum says the current Women’s World Cup Trophy replaced the earlier trophy used in the first two tournaments.
The story is not simply one of gold, engraving and ceremony. One trophy was hidden during the Second World War, stolen from Westminster Central Hall in 1966, found by a dog called Pickles, awarded permanently to Brazil in 1970, then stolen again in 1983 and never recovered. Its successor was designed for a more controlled era: heavier, more sculptural, more photogenic, and no longer permanently handed over to champions.
For the 2026 tournament, FIFA Museum has said the FIFA World Cup Original Trophy will return to Zurich after the tournament, while the 2026 Winner’s Trophy is the prize given to the new champions. FIFA Museum also describes the 2026 Winner’s Trophy as a trophy the champions keep as a permanent reminder of their triumph.
Quick answers
How many FIFA World Cup trophies have there been?
For the men’s FIFA World Cup, there have been two main trophies: the Jules Rimet Trophy, used from 1930 to 1970, and the current FIFA World Cup Trophy, first awarded in 1974. The FIFA Women’s World Cup has a separate trophy, with the current version first awarded in 1999.
Do World Cup winners keep the real trophy?
No. Modern men’s World Cup winners lift the FIFA World Cup Original Trophy at the final ceremony, but the original remains FIFA property. The winning association receives a separate Winner’s Trophy. Since 2006, FIFA has no longer given the original men’s trophy into the winning association’s custody for the following four-year cycle.
What is the current men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy made of?
The current men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy is made from 18-carat gold, is hollow inside, weighs 6.175 kg, stands 36.8 cm high — about 14.5 inches — and has a 13 cm base with two green malachite bands.
Strictly speaking, what is “the World Cup Trophy”?
Strictly speaking, “the World Cup Trophy” can mean different things.
In modern everyday use, the phrase usually refers to the men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy, the gold sculpture introduced in 1974. Historically, however, the men’s tournament began with a different prize: the Jules Rimet Trophy, originally known as Victory and later renamed after FIFA president Jules Rimet.
The women’s game has its own separate prize: the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy. The current version was first awarded at the 1999 tournament in the United States and is not a smaller version of the men’s trophy. It belongs to a separate competition with its own champions, imagery and history.
At a glance: the FIFA World Cup trophies
| Trophy | Competition | Era | Designer / maker | Key material notes | Height | Weight | Status |
| Jules Rimet Trophy | Men’s FIFA World Cup | 1930–1970 | Abel Lafleur | Gold-plated sterling silver on a lapis lazuli base | c. 35 cm | c. 3.8 kg | Awarded permanently to Brazil in 1970; stolen in 1983 and never recovered |
| FIFA World Cup Trophy | Men’s FIFA World Cup | 1974–present | Silvio Gazzaniga / Bertoni | 18-carat gold, hollow inside, with green malachite bands | 36.8 cm | 6.175 kg / 13.6 lb | Original retained by FIFA; winners receive a Winner’s Trophy |
| FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy | Women’s FIFA World Cup | Current version from 1999 | William Sawaya / Sawaya & Moroni | Official descriptions vary by FIFA source; see note below | 47 cm | 4.6 kg | Original retained by FIFA; winners receive a Winner’s Trophy |
Source note on the Women’s World Cup Trophy materials: official descriptions do not align perfectly. FIFA’s 2023 tournament page describes the trophy as sterling silver covered in 23-karat white and yellow gold. FIFA Museum describes the current trophy as gold-plated brass with a candeias granite base, and another FIFA Museum page confirms the designer, maker, height and weight without repeating the same material wording. The safest editorial approach is to state the agreed official facts and identify the material discrepancy rather than pretending the records all say the same thing.
The first World Cup trophy: Victory, later Jules Rimet
The first World Cup trophy was not originally called the Jules Rimet Trophy. It was first known as Victory, or simply the World Cup. In 1946, it was renamed after Jules Rimet, the FIFA president whose vision helped create the tournament.
The trophy was designed by French sculptor Abel Lafleur. It depicted Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holding up a cup. Unlike the modern men’s trophy, which shows two athletic figures lifting the Earth, the Jules Rimet Trophy belonged to an older visual language: classical, mythological and ceremonial.
Its physical details made it smaller and lighter than the current men’s trophy. It stood at about 35 cm, weighed about 3.8 kg, and was made from gold-plated sterling silver on a lapis lazuli base.
Uruguay became the first country to receive it after winning the inaugural World Cup in 1930. From there, the trophy began a journey that would include war, secrecy, theft, recovery and disappearance.
Hidden during the Second World War
The Jules Rimet Trophy was already a symbolic object by the time Europe entered the Second World War. Italy had won the World Cup in 1934 and 1938, meaning the trophy was in Italian hands when the tournament was suspended.
Its most famous wartime story concerns Ottorino Barassi, an Italian football official and FIFA vice-president. The accepted account is that Barassi hid the trophy in a shoebox beneath his bed to prevent it being seized during the war.
That story changed the trophy’s meaning. It was no longer merely a prize for footballers. It had become an object people believed was worth protecting from war.
The 1966 theft: England loses the World Cup before winning it
Perhaps, the strangest chapter came in 1966.
England was preparing to host the World Cup when the Jules Rimet Trophy was placed on public display at the Stanley Gibbons Stampex exhibition at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. FIFA says the trophy was insured for £30,000, even though it was valued at a tenth of that, while nearby stamps were worth £3 million.
On Sunday 20 March 1966, while a church service was taking place below, the trophy was stolen. FIFA’s account says the theft happened sometime between 11am and 12.10pm, when the perpetrator broke in through the back door and escaped without being seen.
The ransom demand made the embarrassment worse. A man using the name “Jackson” demanded £15,000. The police operation led to the arrest of Edward Betchley, who was later convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.
The recovery was even more unlikely than the crime. A week after the theft, David Corbett was walking his dog, Pickles, in south London when Pickles began sniffing at a parcel wrapped in newspaper and string. Corbett opened it, saw the names on the base and realised he had found the World Cup.
Four months later, Bobby Moore lifted the same trophy at Wembley after England beat West Germany in the 1966 final. The trophy had been stolen, recovered by a dog, and then raised by England’s captain in the defining image of English football history.
The secret replica and the Manchester mystery
The 1966 theft also produced another oddity: a secret replica.
After the scare, the Football Association had a replica made so the real Jules Rimet Trophy could be kept more secure. The replica was used for public appearances after England’s World Cup win.
For years, there was speculation about whether the surviving 1966-era trophy might somehow be the real object. The National Football Museum and the University of Manchester later tested it using X-ray computer tomography and X-ray fluorescence. Their analysis found no evidence of silver but strong tin and lead signals, supporting the conclusion that the object is the replica rather than the original Jules Rimet Trophy.
That gives the trophy story a second British afterlife. The real Jules Rimet Trophy was lifted at Wembley; the surviving replica became part of English football memory in Manchester.
UK connection: why this story still resonates in Britain
The World Cup trophy story has a particular pull in the UK because several of its strangest scenes happened here.
The theft took place at Central Hall, Westminster, close to the Houses of Parliament. The recovery happened in south London. The same trophy was lifted by Bobby Moore at Wembley. The FA’s secret replica is now tied to Manchester through the National Football Museum and the University of Manchester’s scientific analysis.
That makes the Jules Rimet story more than a football anecdote. It is part of Britain’s 1966 memory: a mix of sporting triumph, comic absurdity, institutional embarrassment and national myth.
For England fans, that memory has only become heavier with time. The song that once sang of “30 years of hurt” is itself now three decades old, and by the 2026 World Cup the wait since 1966 has doubled into 60 years. The Jules Rimet still gleams, but only in memory.
Brazil keeps the Jules Rimet Trophy
The Jules Rimet Trophy was never meant to stay in circulation forever. Under the rules of the time, a country that won the World Cup three times would be allowed to keep it permanently.
Brazil reached that mark in 1970. After winning the World Cup in Mexico with a team remembered for Pelé, Jairzinho, Tostão, Rivellino, Gérson and Carlos Alberto, Brazil took permanent possession of the Jules Rimet Trophy. That forced FIFA to commission a new prize for future tournaments.
What should have been the trophy’s retirement became its final mystery.
The 1983 theft: the trophy disappears for good
On 19 December 1983, the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro. Unlike the London theft, this one had no happy ending.
The trophy has never been recovered. It is often said to have been melted down, but that remains uncertain. Because the trophy was gold-plated sterling silver rather than solid gold, some accounts have questioned whether melting it down would have made economic sense. The stronger statement is simpler: the object disappeared, and no confirmed recovery has ever followed.
That uncertainty is part of the trophy’s power. The object lifted by Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil and England is gone, but not fully explained. Football’s first World Cup trophy became a missing artefact.
World Cup Trophy vs Jules Rimet Trophy
| Feature | Jules Rimet Trophy | FIFA World Cup Trophy |
| Used | 1930–1970 | 1974–present |
| Designer | Abel Lafleur | Silvio Gazzaniga |
| Main material | Gold-plated sterling silver | 18-carat gold |
| Base | Lapis lazuli | Two green malachite bands |
| Height | About 35 cm | 36.8 cm / about 14.5 in |
| Weight | About 3.8 kg | 6.175 kg / about 13.6 lb |
| Design | Nike, Greek goddess of victory | Two athletes lifting the world |
| Permanent ownership? | Brazil kept it after a third win | Never permanently awarded |
| Current status | Stolen in 1983 and never recovered | Original retained by FIFA |
The comparison shows how much the World Cup’s symbolism changed. The Jules Rimet Trophy looked like a classical victory statue. The current trophy looks like a global sporting icon.
The replacement: Silvio Gazzaniga’s modern trophy
After Brazil kept the Jules Rimet Trophy, FIFA needed a replacement. On 5 April 1971, a committee met at FIFA headquarters in Zurich under Sir Stanley Rous to launch the process for a new World Cup trophy. Silvio Gazzaniga’s official trophy history says 53 projects from 25 nations were considered before his design was chosen.
Gazzaniga, a Milanese sculptor working with Bertoni, created a trophy that was not a cup in the traditional sense. It has no handles and no bowl. Instead, two stylised athletes rise from the base and lift the world.
The design suited modern football’s global identity. It is sculptural, compact and immediately readable on television. The Jules Rimet Trophy looked back to classical victory imagery; Gazzaniga’s trophy looked outward, towards the whole planet.
The current FIFA World Cup Trophy was made official by FIFA in January 1972 and first awarded in 1974, when West Germany won the tournament and Franz Beckenbauer became the first captain to lift it.
What the current FIFA World Cup Trophy is made of
The current men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy is highly specific in form and material.
Gazzaniga’s official history says the trophy was cast using the ancient lost-wax technique. It is made from 18-carat gold, is hollow inside, weighs 6,175 grams, stands 36.8 cm high, and has a 13 cm base with two green malachite bands. The winners’ names are engraved on panels around and under the base.
Its value therefore comes from two places. Materially, it is gold and malachite. Symbolically, it is the object every footballer wants to touch.
How much is the World Cup Trophy worth?
The FIFA World Cup Trophy is valuable in two different ways.
In material terms, it contains 18-carat gold and malachite, so its metal value changes with the gold market. Any fixed estimate can quickly become outdated.
In football terms, it is effectively priceless. The original is a FIFA-owned sporting artefact, a global symbol, and the central prize of the world’s most watched football tournament. Its real value comes from scarcity, history and ritual, not from being weighed like jewellery.
Who is allowed to touch the World Cup Trophy?
Access to the FIFA World Cup Trophy is tightly controlled. It is treated less like ordinary silverware and more like a protected ceremonial object.
Since 2006, FIFA has not given the original trophy into the winning association’s custody for the full four-year cycle. Instead, Gazzaniga’s official history says it is handed to the winning captain for only a few hours during the final celebration, while the winning federation receives a copy.
That restriction adds to the trophy’s mystique. Millions can see it, but very few can lift it as world champions.
Although I’m pretty sure Trump will be pushing people aside to lift it on final day.
The trophy everyone lifts, but does not keep
The modern trophy changed the meaning of winning.
The Jules Rimet Trophy could be kept permanently after three wins. The current FIFA World Cup Trophy cannot. Gazzaniga’s official history states that the current trophy will never be definitively assigned to a team that wins three times, but will continue until the available engraving spaces are filled.
FIFA Museum’s 2026 update makes the modern arrangement especially clear. The Original Trophy returns to Zurich after the tournament, while the 2026 Winner’s Trophy goes to the future world champions.
The trophy lift is therefore both real and temporary. The captain raises the original in the moment of victory, but the object itself remains under FIFA control.
The Women’s World Cup Trophy: a separate global symbol
The FIFA Women’s World Cup has its own trophy story.
The current FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy was first awarded at the 1999 tournament in the United States. FIFA Museum says it replaced the trophy presented to winners of the earlier tournaments, and that the first Women’s World Cup trophy also had a theft story of its own.
The women’s trophy has a different visual language from the men’s. Instead of two figures lifting the Earth, it uses a rising spiral form with a football at the top. FIFA Museum describes it as designed by William Sawaya of Sawaya & Moroni, standing 47 cm high and weighing 4.6 kg.
Its material record needs careful handling. FIFA’s 2023 tournament page describes it as sterling silver covered in 23-karat white and yellow gold. FIFA Museum describes it differently, using gold-plated brass and granite-base language. Rather than hiding that discrepancy, the safest editorial approach is to state that official descriptions vary while agreeing on the designer, height, weight and 1999 first presentation.
The Women’s World Cup Trophy should not be treated as an appendix to the men’s trophy story. It is the central prize of a separate global competition, and its history reflects a different stage in football’s development: the institutional rise of the women’s game.
Timeline: from Jules Rimet to the modern trophies
| Year | Event |
| 1930 | The first World Cup is played in Uruguay; the original trophy is awarded to Uruguay. |
| 1934–1938 | Italy wins the World Cup twice, meaning the trophy is in Italian possession during the Second World War. |
| 1946 | The original trophy is renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy. |
| 1966 | The Jules Rimet Trophy is stolen from Central Hall, Westminster, and found a week later by Pickles the dog in south London. |
| 1970 | Brazil wins the World Cup for a third time and keeps the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. |
| 1971–1972 | FIFA commissions a new trophy; Silvio Gazzaniga’s design is selected and officially adopted. |
| 1974 | The current FIFA World Cup Trophy is first awarded; Franz Beckenbauer lifts it for West Germany. |
| 1983 | The Jules Rimet Trophy is stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation and never recovered. |
| 1999 | The current FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy is first awarded. |
| 2006 | FIFA’s modern custody practice means the original men’s trophy is no longer held by the winning association after the tournament. |
| 2026 | FIFA Museum says the Original Trophy returns to Zurich after the tournament, while the 2026 Winner’s Trophy goes to the champions. |
Why the trophies matter
Aside from being the crowning glory of any footballers career to simply go to the tournament (if the USA immigration let you in without a cavity search), the actual World Cup trophies matter because they show how football has changed. It’s one of the most famous sports trophies in the world.
The Jules Rimet Trophy belonged to an age of fragile internationalism. It crossed oceans, survived war, moved between national associations, and could still be placed in a public exhibition with imperfect security. Its story is full of human error: loose guarding, secret replicas, ransom notes, and a dog finding the most important object in football wrapped in newspaper.
The current FIFA World Cup Trophy belongs to the age of controlled global spectacle. It is heavier, brighter, more abstract and more protected. Its image is simple enough to be understood anywhere: two athletes lifting the world. Its custody is managed as carefully as its symbolism.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy belongs to a newer phase of the game: the rise of a global women’s competition with its own champions, iconography and trophy identity.
Together, these trophies tell a story stranger than the victory ceremony suggests. Football’s greatest prizes have been hidden, stolen, copied, replaced, guarded and engraved. Their materials matter — silver, gold, malachite, lapis lazuli, brass, aluminium and granite — but their real weight comes from the events attached to them.
Every World Cup final ends with a captain lifting a trophy above their head. The gesture lasts only seconds. Behind it sits nearly a century of loss, recovery, reinvention and control.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to the Jules Rimet Trophy?
The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in London in 1966 and recovered a week later by Pickles the dog. Brazil kept it permanently after winning the men’s World Cup for a third time in 1970. It was stolen again from the Brazilian Football Confederation in 1983 and has never been recovered.
Who designed the current FIFA World Cup Trophy?
The current men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy was designed by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, working with Bertoni. His design was selected after FIFA considered 53 projects from 25 nations for a replacement trophy after Brazil kept the Jules Rimet Trophy.
How tall is the FIFA World Cup Trophy?
The current men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy is 36.8 cm tall, or about 14.5 inches.
How heavy is the FIFA World Cup Trophy?
The current men’s FIFA World Cup Trophy weighs 6.175 kg, or about 13.6 lb.
Is the FIFA World Cup Trophy solid gold?
The current men’s trophy is made from 18-carat gold, but it is hollow inside. That explains why it weighs 6.175 kg rather than many tens of kilograms.
Do World Cup winners keep the trophy?
No. The winning captain lifts the FIFA World Cup Original Trophy at the ceremony, but the original returns to FIFA. The winning team receives a separate Winner’s Trophy or copy.
What is the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy?
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy is the prize awarded to the winners of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The current version was first awarded in 1999, was designed by William Sawaya of Sawaya & Moroni, stands 47 cm high and weighs 4.6 kg. Official descriptions vary on its materials, so material claims should be tied to the specific FIFA or FIFA Museum source being used.
