In 1970, following Brazil's then-record third tournament win which saw them claim the prize outright, the current version was commissioned. The FIFA World Cup trophy, since its inception, has been the object of desire for every football-playing nation in the world, more than 200 of them currently, and their epic struggles on the field to win it has produced some memorable moments.

Since 1974, football world champions have been presented with the new version called the FIFA World Cup trophy. The official line is that the World Cup trophy is solid, made up of 30,875 Carats of 18 karat (75%) gold with a band of malachite on its base.Instead, the FIFA World Cup winners from each year get to permanently keep a gold-plated bronze replica, referred to as the FIFA World Cup Winners’ Trophy, for every tournament they win. Among the new trophy winners, only England and Uruguay have failed to win the current trophy. Germany and Argentina are the most successful nations, having lifted the FIFA World Cup Trophy on three separate occasions. Two triumphs, 1974 and 1990, were credited to West Germany. West Germany was also the first country to lift the trophy in 1974. The old trophy’s exciting journey didn’t end there as it ended up being stolen on a couple of occasions. The first incident took place in England ahead of the 1966 World Cup. The Jules Rimet Trophy was put on a public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall on 20 March 1966, when the theft took place.

The Jules Rimet Trophy had had quite a fascinating history. When World War II broke out, Italy was the current world champion. So Ottorino Barassi, who was vice-President of FIFA and President of Italy’s football federation, took it upon himself to hide the trophy from the clutches of the Nazis. Barassi hid the trophy in a shoebox under his bed while the war raged in most of Europe. It remains the Three Lions’ only World Cup win to date and Queen Elizabeth II herself presented the trophy to Sir Bobby Moore. The current trophy was created for the 1999 championships and is the first permanent prize in the tournament's history. [8] The trophy was designed and produced in London by a team of craftsmen from Garrard & Co (the Crown Jewellers). The whole process was completed over a period of two months time.

How much is the World Cup trophy worth?

Following the retirement of the Jules Rimet Trophy, FIFA needed a new cup. The soccer’s governing body invited proposals and received submissions from fifty-three sculptors from seven different countries. Eventually, Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga’s design was selected by FIFA as their new World Cup trophy. The Reliance World Cup and Wills World Cup were crafted by Amit Pabu Wal of Jaipur who has also made the world's largest gold trophy, the most expensive trophy in world history, as well as the T20 World Cup. [10] Status [ edit ] One such replica was also given to Nelson Mandela before South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2010. It was the only instance of an individual receiving an official replica of the trophy to date. World Rugby, attempting to provide some clarity, said the replica versions were "two-thirds the size" – though that's clearly not true of the 1987 version.