The World Cup is a small gold trophy representing the hopes and ambitions of every footballing nation on earth. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, there have been two trophies awarded to the winners.

Jules Rimet Trophy

The Jules Rimet Trophy was the original prize for winning the World Cup. Originally called simply the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, it was renamed in 1946 to honour the FIFA President Jules Rimet who in 1929 passed a vote to initiate the competition. It was designed by Abel Lafleur, standing 35 cm high and weighing 3.8 kg and made of gold plated sterling silver. It was in the shape of a cup, incorporating a statuette of Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory.

During World War II, the trophy was held by Italy. Ottorino Barassi, an official of the Italian Football Federation, hid it from the Germans in a shoe-box under his bed.

During a public exhibition just before the 1966 World Cup Final in England the trophy was stolen, but was found just seven days later, wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in Norwood, South London, by a dog named "Pickles". As a security measure, FIFA secretly manufactured a replica of the trophy for use in the post-match celebrations. The replica was also used on subsequent occasions until 1970. The replica was sold at an auction in 1997 for $425,015 (£254,500).

The Brazilian team won the trophy in perpetuity in 1970, being rewarded for being the only team ever to have won three World Cups. However the cup was stolen again in 1983 and never recovered: it may have been smelted. The Brazilian Football Confederation commissioned a replica of their own, made of sterling silver with a gold plating and a blue base made of lapis lazuli.

FIFA World Cup Trophy

The replacement trophy, officially known as the FIFA World Cup and first presented to the winners of the 1974 World Cup winners, West Germany, was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and is 36cm tall and is made of 5 kg of 18 carat (75 %) solid gold with a malachite base, depicting two human figures holding up the Earth. FIFA is unlikely to give it away again: the winners of the tournament receive it in loan for four years and receive a replica to keep. It is not known whether FIFA will retire the trophy after all of the name plaques at the base are filled in; this will occur after the 2038 World Cup.

Winners

Copy from the FIFA World Cup Trophy for the Winner-Team Germany 1990

Jules Rimet Trophy

• Brazil - 1958, 1962, 1970
• Uruguay - 1930, 1950
• Italy - 1934, 1938
• West Germany - 1954
• England - 1966

FIFA World Cup

• West Germany - 1974, 1990
• Argentina - 1978, 1986
• Brazil - 1994, 2002
• Italy - 1982
• France - 1998