Every soccer fan has dreamed of the day their country’s representatives hoist the golden World Cup trophy into the air in celebration. But what happens after the ceremony?
Does the World Cup winner keep the trophy that is awarded to them? Let’s find out!
So, do the winners keep the World Cup trophy?
No, the World Cup winners receive a replica trophy. The original World Cup trophy is permanently housed at FIFA’s World Football Museum, located in Zurich, Switzerland.
Why don’t nations get to keep the World Cup trophy?
Nations don’t get to keep the World Cup trophy due to the cost associated with its production and the fact that it is a target for thieves. The World Cup trophy is exceptionally valuable and has been stolen on numerous occasions in the past.
Initially, there was a rule that stipulated that a nation could keep the trophy if they won it three times. So, in 1970, when Brazil won the trophy for the third time, they kept the trophy for good.
However, it was stolen in 1983, and to this day, nobody knows who stole it and where it currently resides. It was stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Soccer Association in Rio, and there is speculation that it was melted down and sold.
The fascinating history of the Jules Rimet trophy
Once Brazil retained the original World Cup, designers got to work on producing a new trophy. This marked the end of the Jules Rimet trophy, which had lived a charmed life since its appearance at the first World Cup in 1930.
The original World Cup trophy was named after Jules Rimet, the FIFA president who conceived the idea of the World Cup. It was awarded to the winning nation until 1970, and it has a fascinating history.
Designed by Abel Lafleur and initially named Victory, the Jules Rimet trophy was first awarded to Uruguay, the Champions of the first-ever World Cup.
By the 1940s and the outbreak of the Second World War, the Jules Rimet was housed predominantly in Europe. As the Nazis were plotting their invasion of the continent, the precious trophy was at significant risk.
As such, an Italian official by the name of Dr. Ottorino Barassi took it upon himself to break into a Roman bank to steal the trophy. He took it home and hid it under his bed from the Nazis, returning it to the authorities for the 1950 World Cup!
When England hosted the World Cup in 1966, the Jules Rimet trophy once again became the center of controversy. In the weeks leading up to the tournament, the trophy was stolen from an exhibition in London.
An English soccer fan by the name of David Corbett and his dog Pickles discovered the trophy hidden in a garden hedge in London, returning it to FIFA and collecting a £6,000 reward for their trouble.
It turns out that the trophy was stolen by London gangsters Sidney and Reg Cugullere, who were hopeful of commanding a ransom for the famous trophy. Following Pickles’ discovery, the perpetrators were jailed, and the Jules Rimet trophy lived on!
The birth of a new World Cup trophy
The FIFA World Cup trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga after being chosen as the winner from 53 by a select committee. The trophy is made of 18-karat gold and stands 14 inches tall.
Given the perilous history of the Jules Rimet that went before it, FIFA decided that the new trophy would not be permanently awarded to the winning nation, regardless of how many times they win the competition.
As such, the trophy resides permanently in FIFA’s headquarters in Switzerland, and a gold-plated replica is made for and presented to the winning nation.
When designing the new prize, Gazzaniga installed a plaque at the foot of the trophy to allow for inscription. It has seventeen slots, meaning that there will be no space left by 2042 to record the winners of the cup.
As such, FIFA has decided that a new trophy will be launched in the 2040s, and the current iteration of the world’s most sought-after prize will be permanently housed in the FIFA soccer museum in Europe.
How big is the World Cup trophy?
As soccer trophies go, the current version of the World Cup isn’t particularly big. It stands at just fourteen inches tall and weighs eleven pounds.
So, although it’s the most coveted prize in soccer, the World Cup itself is actually one of the most diminutive trophies.
In comparison, the UEFA Champions League trophy is twenty-nine inches tall and weighs seventeen pounds. In other words, it dwarfs the World Cup trophy!
Which nation has won the most World Cup trophies?
Brazil has won the World Cup on five occasions, collecting the prize in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002. The table below shows the nations with the most World Cup wins to their name at the time of writing:
| Nation | Number of wins | Winning years |
| Brazil | 5 | 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 |
| Germany* | 4 | 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014 |
| Italy | 4 | 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006 |
| Argentina | 2 | 1978, 1986 |
| France | 2 | 1998, 2018 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 1930, 1950 |
* Note that Germany has won the World Cup twice as a unified nation. In 1954 and 1974, the nation won the trophy as West Germany at a time when the country was divided. Read more about the fascinating story behind the division of East and West Germany in this recent article.
When the World Cup gets underway in Qatar at the end of 2022, it will be two decades since Brazil lifted the crown. Will Neymar finally get his hands on the number one prize in soccer?
Recap: Does the World Cup winner keep the trophy?
Ask any soccer player what they dreamed about growing up, and they will almost certainly tell you something about the World Cup.
It is the pinnacle of achievement in soccer and a trophy like no other. But given the history of the theft of the original Jules Rimet trophy, nations no longer get to keep the World Cup trophy following their victory.
Still, a gold-plated replica is a good enough substitute, in our opinion!
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