The iconic trophy and its replicas, given at the ceremony to the team that won the FIFA World Cup, the highest organization at the level of national teams in football, are produced in Italy.
The World Cup, which has been organized by FIFA every 4 years except for the Second World War period since 1930 and managed to attract the attention of the masses when it was played, is being held for the 22nd time this year, hosted by Qatar.
In the 21 championships held so far, two different trophy designs met with the winning teams. The first World Cup organization held in Uruguay in 1930 started with the trophy designed by the French sculptor Abel Lafleur and depicting Nike, the ancient goddess of victory. This design was used for about 40 years.
This trophy, also known as “Victory” at first and later named after former FIFA President Jules Rimet, became the “three-time champion” cup at that time, with Brazil becoming the champion for the 3rd time at the World Cup held in Mexico in 1970. He went to the museum of “Sambacılar” because of the rule of “wholly owns”.
After the 1970 World Cup, FIFA held an international competition to determine the new trophy design, and 53 designs participated in this competition.
The original design of Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, the artistic director of the Italian firm GDE Bertoni, whose portfolio today includes the trophies of well-known major international organizations such as the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and medals of different events, won the competition at that time.
Gazzaniga’s design, consisting of a globe held by two victory angels holding their hands up, continues to be the grand prize of this important organization that locks millions of people on the screen at the same time.
This unique design of Gazzaniga, which has been the image that comes to mind when the World Cup is mentioned for the last 50 years, is produced in its facilities in Paderno Dugnano, near the industrial city of Milan, Italy.
The mug weighs 6.2 kilos and is made of 18 carat gold
Valentina Losa, the CEO of GDE Bertoni, which opened the doors of its factories to Anadolu Agency from Turkey for the first time, talked about the features of this most important football cup, which has been in mind with its design for nearly 50 years.
Stating that the FIFA World Cup is 38 centimeters in height, 6.2 kilograms in weight and consists of 18-carat gold, Losa said that this design was first shown in 1973, and was presented in 1974 in the organization hosted by Germany.
While telling the story of the FIFA World Cup, Losa noted:
“This trophy is a work produced by Silvio Gazzaniga, the artistic director of the time, with the owner of the Bertoni company and my grandfather Eugenio Losa. It was originally designed on the basis of two goalkeepers lifting a soccer ball. After different discussions, the goalkeepers were replaced by two victory angels. “The decision was made. Then the soccer ball was replaced by the world. This was the new World Cup, the final design submitted to FIFA.”
Pointing out that the trophy is the only original work that was presented in 1974 and remains in FIFA, Losa said, “The original trophy is sent to the winning team at the ceremony at the end of the final match, then comes to us to engrave the name of the winning team on the disc at the bottom. Then it goes to FIFA. “In the meantime, if there is any damage or stain on the trophy, we overhaul it to restore it. The winning team does not receive the golden original of the trophy, but a gold brass alloy copy with its name engraved.” he said.
Valentina Losa stated that the trophy is currently in Qatar and is ready to be awarded to the winning team, adding, “We are now producing a copy of the World Cup for 2026.” used the phrases.
Gazzaniga’s design, which entered circulation with the 1974 World Cup hosted and won by West Germany, has been the FIFA World Cup ever since; Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany 1974), Daniel Passarella (Argentina 1978), Dino Zoff (Italy 1982), Diego Armando Maradona (Argentina 1986), Lothar Matthaus (Germany 1990), Carlos Dunga (Brazil 1994), Didier Deschamps (France 1998) , Cafu (Brazil 2002), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy 2006), Iker Casillas (Spain 2010), Philipp Lahm (Germany 2014) and Hugo Lloris (France 2018) rose at the hands of important team captains.
This important football trophy will be lifted into the air as a symbol of victory in the hands of a captain after the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar, which will be played on 18 December at the Lusail Stadium.