The answer is yes: the current FIFA World Cup Trophy is made from 18-carat solid gold, and it has been used since 1974. That makes it very different from the original prize, the Jules Rimet Trophy, which had a far more turbulent history.
There have been two World Cup trophies. The first was the Jules Rimet Trophy, named in 1956 after Jules Rimet following his death. The current version, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, replaced it in 1974 when West Germany became the first recipients.
Who designed the current World Cup trophy?
The new trophy was created by Silvio Gazzaniga, who won FIFA’s competition to design it. More than 50 submissions from seven different countries were considered before his design was chosen. Gazzaniga explained his thinking simply: as this is the World Cup, it was only logical that the world should form part of the trophy. He imagined the world as a ball, supported by human figures rising from the base.
That design helped give the trophy its distinctive look. It stands 36cm tall and weighs 6.142kg, making it a substantial prize as well as a symbolic one.
What happened to the original trophy?
The Jules Rimet Trophy had a much more dramatic life. During the Second World War, the Nazis tried to take it from Rome, but Ottorino Barassi hid it in a shoebox underneath his bed. Later, in 1966, Pickles found it underneath a hedge a week after thieves had taken it from Westminster Central Hall in London.
Brazil were then allowed to keep the trophy after winning the World Cup for the third time in 1970. But the story still did not end there. In 1983, the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from the Brazilian FA’s offices in Rio de Janeiro and was never recovered.
So when people ask whether the World Cup trophy is real gold, the modern answer is straightforward: yes, the prize lifted by champions from 1974 onwards is an 18-carat solid gold trophy. In 2022, Lionel Messi held it aloft after Argentina won, and in 2026 either Lionel Messi or Rodri is to be presented with it at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
