The World Cup Trophy — A Complete History of Football's Ultimate Prize

June 16, 2026 · 10 min read

Every four years, one team lifts it. Millions watch. Billions dream. But the World Cup trophy itself has a story wilder than any final — involving wartime shoeboxes, a dog named Pickles, and two separate thefts that remain unresolved to this day. Here is the complete history of football's most coveted object.

The Jules Rimet Trophy: Where It All Began

In 1929, FIFA president Jules Rimet pushed through a vote to create a world championship for football. The tournament needed a trophy. French sculptor Abel Lafleur was commissioned to design it, and what he produced was a 35-centimeter, 3.8-kilogram masterpiece: gold-plated sterling silver on a lapis lazuli base, depicting Nike — the ancient Greek goddess of victory — holding an octagonal cup above her head.

Originally called simply "Victory," the trophy was renamed in 1946 to honor Rimet himself after his 25 years of service to FIFA. It was first carried across the Atlantic aboard the ship Conte Verde in June 1930, sailing from Villefranche-sur-Mer near Nice to Montevideo. Jules Rimet was on the same vessel, along with players from France, Romania, and Belgium. Uruguay won that inaugural tournament — and the first piece of World Cup history was written.

Rimet had stipulated from the beginning that any nation winning the World Cup three times would earn the right to keep the trophy permanently. It took 40 years for anyone to achieve it, but when Brazil won in Mexico in 1970 — their third title after 1958 and 1962 — the Jules Rimet Trophy was theirs forever.

Wartime Heroics: The Shoebox Under the Bed

The trophy's most dramatic pre-war moment came not on the pitch but in a Roman bedroom. After Italy won the 1938 World Cup, World War II broke out. The trophy was stored in a bank vault in Rome, but as the conflict intensified, Italian FIFA vice-president Ottorino Barassi grew worried. He secretly removed the trophy from the bank and hid it in a shoebox under his bed — where it remained safe for the duration of the war.

Without Barassi's quiet heroism, the Jules Rimet Trophy might have ended up in a Nazi vault alongside looted art. Instead, it emerged from the war intact and ready for the 1950 tournament in Brazil.

The Bellini Lift: How a Photographer Created a Tradition

At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Brazilian captain Hilderaldo Bellini heard photographers shouting for a better view of the trophy. He raised it above his head — and created a tradition that every World Cup-winning captain has followed since. The image of a captain hoisting the trophy overhead is now one of the most recognizable poses in all of sport.

Bellini later admitted he was surprised the gesture caught on. "I just wanted the photographers to see it," he said. Nearly 70 years later, it remains the defining moment of every World Cup final.

The 1966 Theft and Pickles the Dog

On 20 March 1966 — four months before England was due to host the World Cup — the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from a public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall in London. The theft made global headlines. Scotland Yard launched a massive investigation. The tournament appeared cursed before it had even begun.

Seven days later, a black-and-white collie named Pickles found the trophy wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, South London. Pickles's owner, David Corbett, received a reward of £6,000 — roughly £130,000 in today's money. The dog became a national celebrity, was invited to the World Cup victory banquet after England won the tournament, and even appeared in a film. He was reportedly offered free meat for life.

The incident prompted the English Football Association to secretly manufacture a replica of the trophy for use in future exhibitions, keeping the original under tighter security. FIFA had explicitly refused the FA permission to create a replica — so the FA did it anyway and kept the duplicate hidden for years. The unauthorized replica was eventually sold at auction in 1997 for £254,500, roughly ten times its reserve price. FIFA tested it, confirmed it was the replica, and purchased it. It now sits in the English National Football Museum in Manchester.

Brazil's Permanent Gift — and Its Second Theft

After Brazil's third World Cup victory in 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was permanently transferred to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. It was displayed in a cabinet with bullet-proof glass — but only on the front. On 19 December 1983, thieves pried open the wooden rear panel with a crowbar and walked away with the trophy.

Four men were tried and convicted in absentia. The trophy has never been recovered. The most widely accepted theory is that it was melted down and sold as gold — though some argue it didn't contain enough gold to make that worthwhile, and the trophy may have passed through black market channels instead. The only surviving original piece is the base plate, which FIFA had kept in a basement at its Zürich headquarters.

In 1984, the CBF commissioned a replacement replica from Eastman Kodak using 1.8 kilograms of gold, which was presented to Brazilian military president João Figueiredo. Brazil still displays this replica today.

The New Trophy: Gazzaniga's Masterpiece

With the Jules Rimet Trophy gone, FIFA commissioned a new design. Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga won a competition that drew 53 submissions from sculptors in seven countries. His creation — manufactured by GDE Bertoni in Paderno Dugnano, Italy — was unveiled in time for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

The new trophy stands 36.5 centimeters tall and weighs 6.175 kilograms — 5 kilograms of 18-karat gold plus 1.175 kilograms of malachite on the base. It depicts two athletes at the moment of victory, holding up the Earth. Lines spiral outward from the base, giving it a sense of upward motion.

One detail surprises most people: the trophy is hollow. If it were solid gold, it would weigh between 70 and 80 kilograms — far too heavy for any captain to lift overhead. Gazzaniga reportedly said his design captured "the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory." The estimated material cost sits around $713,000, though its symbolic value is, of course, incalculable.

Engraving Rules and the 2010 Spain Error

Unlike the Jules Rimet Trophy, the current trophy does not display winners' names on its visible surface. Instead, a plate on the bottom — not visible when the trophy is standing upright — bears the names of each World Cup winner in their national language. After the 1994 World Cup, FIFA added this plate system.

As of 2022, twelve winners are engraved. The plate is replaced each World Cup cycle, with names rearranged into a spiral to accommodate future champions. There was one notable error: after Spain won in 2010, their name was engraved as "2010 Spain" in English rather than "2010 España" in Spanish. This was quietly corrected on the plate made after the 2018 tournament.

The space on the base plate is finite. FIFA has not publicly stated what happens when it runs out — though given that a new World Cup occurs every four years, that remains a distant problem.

Security, Travel, and Who Gets to Touch It

The original trophy never leaves FIFA's custody except under strict conditions. It is permanently housed at the FIFA World Football Museum in Zürich, Switzerland. It travels only for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour (inaugurated in 2006), the Final Draw for the next tournament, and the opening match and Final of the World Cup itself.

The list of people allowed to touch the trophy with bare hands is remarkably short: players and managers who have won it, heads of state, and FIFA officials. Everyone else — including journalists, sponsors, and former players who never won — must keep their hands off.

Most importantly, winning teams no longer keep the original. They receive a bronze, gold-plated replica instead. Even three-time winners — Germany in 2014 and Argentina in 2022 — received replicas. FIFA clearly learned from the fate of the Jules Rimet Trophy: once it left their possession, it was stolen and destroyed. The current trophy stays in Zürich. Period.

Iconic Lifting Moments in World Cup History

Some trophy-lifting moments have become as famous as the matches themselves:

• Franz Beckenbauer (1974): The first captain to lift the new trophy, leading West Germany to victory on home soil. Beckenbauer later became one of only three people to win the World Cup as both player and manager.
• Diego Maradona (1986): Argentina's captain raised the trophy at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City — the same venue where he had scored the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" earlier in the tournament.
• Zinedine Zidane (1998): France won their first-ever World Cup on home soil, with Zidane scoring twice in the final against Brazil. The image of him lifting the trophy at the Stade de France became a national symbol.
• Lionel Messi (2022): After 17 years of international heartbreak, Messi finally lifted the World Cup in Qatar — Argentina's third title. The image of him wearing a bisht while hoisting the trophy became the most-liked Instagram photo in history.

The Trophy by the Numbers

What the Trophy Means for Predictions

Understanding the World Cup trophy's history adds context to how teams approach the tournament. Nations that have lifted it before carry a psychological edge — the trophy is not abstract to them. Brazil's five titles, Germany's four, Italy's four, Argentina's three — these are not just numbers. They represent institutional knowledge of what it takes to win when everything is on the line.

For prediction purposes, consider trophy history as one factor among many. Teams with prior World Cup wins tend to perform better in knockout rounds, where experience and composure matter more than raw talent. When you make your picks on FanPick, factor in not just current form and squad depth, but the weight of history behind each jersey.

Key Takeaways

• The original Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen twice — first in London in 1966 (recovered by a dog named Pickles), then in Rio de Janeiro in 1983 (never recovered, presumed destroyed).
• The current FIFA World Cup Trophy weighs 6.175 kg of 18-karat gold and malachite, is hollow to allow lifting, and was designed by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga.
• Winners no longer keep the original — they receive a gold-plated bronze replica. FIFA learned from the Jules Rimet Trophy's fate.
• The tradition of captains lifting the trophy overhead started with Brazil's Hilderaldo Bellini in 1958, purely because photographers asked for a better view.
• Lionel Messi's 2022 trophy lift in Qatar produced the most-liked Instagram photo in history — proof that the trophy's emotional power remains undiminished after nearly a century.