The 2026 FIFA World Cup Trophy: History, Design, and What It Symbolizes
Saturday, May 23
The FIFA World Cup trophy is the 18-carat gold sculpture awarded to the winning national team at each men’s FIFA World Cup. The current trophy has been used since 1974, and one new nation will have its name engraved on the base after the 2026 final on July 19. Designed by an Italian sculptor in the early 1970s, the trophy depicts two human figures rising from a malachite base to hold up the Earth.
What looks like a single golden statue carries more than five decades of competitive history, two design eras, and a story that has survived two thefts, a world war, and a permanent retirement of its predecessor.
What the FIFA World Cup trophy is
The FIFA World Cup trophy is the official prize awarded to the winning national team at each men’s FIFA World Cup. Since 1974, the same Silvio Gazzaniga design has been used at every tournament, with each winner’s name engraved on the underside of the base. The trophy is the property of FIFA. Winning nations receive a gold-plated bronze replica to keep permanently, while the original returns to FIFA in Zurich after each tournament’s celebrations.
The trophy is one of the most recognized objects in international sport, alongside the Olympic torch and the Lombardi Trophy. Its size is smaller than many people assume. Standing 36.5 centimeters (about 14.4 inches) tall, the trophy is among the more compact championship trophies in major professional sports, which is part of why World Cup winners can lift it overhead so comfortably.
For the 2026 tournament, the trophy will be presented at the New Jersey venue selected as the official host of the final on July 19, 2026, the last match of a tournament shared across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The design of the FIFA World Cup trophy
The trophy’s distinctive shape, two athletes rising in spiral lines from a base and holding up the world, has been unchanged since 1974. FIFA chose the design from 53 international submissions, and it remains the signature image of competitive soccer’s biggest prize.
Who designed the FIFA World Cup trophy?
Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga designed the current FIFA World Cup trophy in 1971. His commission was awarded after FIFA opened an international design competition that drew 53 submissions from sculptors in seven countries. GDE Bertoni, a metalworking firm in Paderno Dugnano in northern Italy, manufactured Gazzaniga’s design. Gazzaniga later designed the original UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup, but the FIFA World Cup trophy remains his most cited work.
What the design depicts
The trophy depicts two stylized human figures rising from the base in spiral lines, their arms reaching up to hold the Earth. Gazzaniga himself described the design in terms of dynamic tension. Lines spring from the base and stretch upward to receive the world, capturing two athletes at the moment of victory. The Earth at the top is the visual anchor: a victorious nation holds the world, briefly.
The physical specifications of the FIFA World Cup trophy
The trophy stands 36.5 centimeters (14.4 inches) tall and weighs approximately 6.175 kilograms (13.6 pounds). The base is 13 centimeters in diameter and made of two layers of malachite, a green semi-precious stone. The body is hollow. Engraved on the underside of the base are the years and winning nations of every FIFA World Cup since 1974, with space estimated to run out somewhere between 2038 and 2042 before a redesigned base will be required.
What the FIFA World Cup trophy is made of
The trophy is made primarily of 18-carat gold, which is 75 percent pure gold, with the remainder being other metals to add strength. The base uses malachite, a green semi-precious stone valued for its banded patterns. The hollow body is a structural decision, not a cosmetic one.
According to the London Bullion Market Association, the FIFA World Cup trophy is made of 6.175 kg of 18-carat gold, which means it contains 4.93 kg of pure gold. The trophy is hollow because a solid 18-carat gold trophy of the same external dimensions would weigh many tens of pounds, far too heavy to be lifted overhead by a celebrating captain.
The melt value of the gold alone has fluctuated with the gold market and has been estimated at over $500,000 at recent prices, with the actual figure shifting alongside the spot price of gold.
The trophy’s overall valuation as a historical and cultural artifact is estimated well above $20 million, but FIFA does not assign it a public market value, and the trophy is not for sale at any price.
A brief history of the FIFA World Cup trophy
Two trophies have been awarded across the history of the men’s FIFA World Cup. The original ran from 1930 to 1970. The current trophy has been used since the 1974 tournament in West Germany and will be awarded again in 2026.
The Jules Rimet Trophy, 1930 to 1970
The original World Cup trophy was designed by French sculptor Abel Lafleur and named Victory before being renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1946 after the FIFA president who founded the tournament. The trophy was made of gold-plated sterling silver on a lapis lazuli base, depicted the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, holding a decagonal cup, stood 35 centimeters tall, and weighed 3.8 kilograms.
Under the original FIFA rules, any nation that won the World Cup three times was entitled to keep the trophy permanently. Brazil reached that mark in 1970. The Jules Rimet Trophy was retired and went to the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro. In 1983, the trophy was stolen from its display and has never been recovered. The original is widely believed to have been melted down.
The current trophy, from 1974 to today
After Brazil’s 1970 win, FIFA commissioned a new design through an international competition that Gazzaniga won. The new trophy was first awarded at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, lifted by Franz Beckenbauer. Every World Cup since then has used the same trophy. The winning captain and squad hold the trophy briefly for the celebration, and a gold-plated bronze replica is awarded to the national association for permanent display. The original returns to FIFA in Zurich.
What the FIFA World Cup trophy symbolizes
The trophy is the most visible symbol of national soccer success. Its physical form encodes that meaning. Two athletes lifting the world is a deliberate gesture toward collective achievement, not individual glory. The lasting power of the design has made it a near-universally recognized object across half a century of broadcast soccer.
The trophy carries three layers of symbolism. The athletes represent the players who win it. The Earth on top represents the global scale of the tournament. The malachite base represents the natural foundation from which competitive success rises. Gazzaniga deliberately built ambiguity into the design. The two figures are not identified by nationality, gender, or country, allowing every winning nation to read itself into the form.
For viewers, the trophy carries a fourth meaning that the design did not anticipate: continuity. The same trophy has been lifted by Beckenbauer, Maradona, Zidane, Cannavaro, Iniesta, and Messi. The continuity is part of what makes a World Cup win feel like joining a small, specific lineage.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy in context
One detail worth stating up front: the trophy itself does not change for 2026. Same Gazzaniga design, same dimensions, same materials. What changes is the tournament. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first to be shared across three host nations, the first with 48 teams instead of 32, and the largest in tournament history at 104 matches.
The final will be played on July 19, 2026, at the New Jersey venue selected as the official host of the championship match. From a broadcast and ceremonial perspective, that is where the 2026 trophy lift will happen before the trophy returns to FIFA in Zurich.
The tournament network extends well beyond the match venues. FIFA selects Team Base Camps as training and accommodation hubs for participating national teams across the host countries. Mansfield Stadium in North Texas has been officially selected as one of these FIFA Team Base Camps for the 2026 tournament, a designation that places the venue inside the tournament’s competitive infrastructure, even though the trophy will not be lifted there. For ongoing context on the venue and its scheduled fixtures outside the World Cup, the latest stadium news page tracks announcements.
The next name on the base is still being written
The names engraved on the underside of the trophy form a short list of soccer history, and one more is about to join it on July 19, 2026. Follow the matches, the regional tournament activity, and the local soccer calendar as the story builds toward the final. The anticipated NTSC season opener at the North Texas venue selected as a FIFA Team Base Camp is one of the live North Texas fixtures on the calendar this summer, with the broader 2026 World Cup unfolding across the region beginning in June.
Frequently asked questions
What is the FIFA World Cup trophy made of?
The FIFA World Cup trophy is made of 18-carat gold, with two layers of malachite at the base. The body of the trophy is hollow. According to the London Bullion Market Association, the trophy contains 4.93 kg of pure gold inside a total mass of 6.175 kg of 18-carat alloy.
How much does the FIFA World Cup trophy weigh?
The FIFA World Cup trophy weighs approximately 6.175 kilograms, or about 13.6 pounds. The trophy is hollow because a solid 18-carat gold version of the same external dimensions would weigh many tens of pounds, far too heavy to be lifted overhead.
Who designed the FIFA World Cup trophy?
Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga designed the current FIFA World Cup trophy in 1971, after FIFA awarded him the commission through an international design competition with 53 submissions from seven countries. The trophy was manufactured by GDE Bertoni in northern Italy and first awarded at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.
Is the FIFA World Cup trophy solid gold?
No. The FIFA World Cup trophy is hollow. The body is made of 18-carat gold (75 percent pure gold), but the inside of the trophy is empty. A solid 18-carat gold trophy of the same external dimensions would weigh roughly 70 to 80 pounds, making it impractical to lift overhead.
Does the winning team keep the FIFA World Cup trophy?
No. The winning team holds the trophy only for the post-match celebrations. The original returns to FIFA in Zurich. The winning national association receives a gold-plated bronze replica to keep permanently. Brazil was the only nation ever to keep the original trophy outright, after winning the Jules Rimet Trophy three times in 1970, before that trophy was retired and later stolen in 1983.
Where will the FIFA World Cup trophy be lifted in 2026?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy will be lifted at the conclusion of the final, scheduled for July 19, 2026, at the New Jersey venue selected as the official host of the championship match. The tournament itself is shared across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the final match the culmination of 104 matches across 39 days.
