The FIFA World Cup Trophy is arguably the most coveted prize in football, with 32 nations set to fight to win it.
The current trophy, though, is not the first for the tournament, as two different trophies were used in the history of the FIFA World Cups.
The Jules Rimet Trophy was the first world cup trophy awarded to the winners of the FIFA quadrennial event from 1930 to 1970.
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Initially the old trophy was originally named ‘Victory’ before it was renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1946.
Its design featured a gold statuette of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holding up an octagonal Cup over her head.
This change was done in honour of former FIFA president Jules Rimet, who voted to organise the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.
Jules Rimet was the third President of FIFA, from 1921 to 1954, before passing away two years later, after his tenure in 1956.
The ‘Victory; trophy appeared at the maiden football World Cup in 1930 after being transported by an Italian passenger ship, Conte Verde. Also present on the ship was the national teams of France, Romania and Belgium.
The trophy was won by Uruguay, who became the inaugural champions before Italy won it in 1934 and defended it in 1938.
During the World War II period, Ottorino Barassi, an Italian who was serving as the FIFA vice-president at the time, secretly transferred the trophy from the vault of a bank in Rome and hid it in a shoebox under his bed.
The trophy stayed under his bed for the entirety of the war until the World Cup returned in 1950 in Brazil.
In 1954, the old base of the Jules Rimet Trophy was replaced with a taller one to accommodate the names of more winners.
Ahead of the 1966 World Cup in England, the trophy was stolen during an exhibition at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster.
It was then valued at ksh4 million (30,000 Pounds). However, it was eventually found by a dog known as Pickles and his owner David Corbett.
The 1966 World Cup trophy was won by England, their only World Cup final win to date where the late Queen Elizabeth II presented the trophy to the Three Lions captain Sir Bobby Moore.
The trophy was again stolen in 1983 from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) headquarters in Rio de Janeiro after the Samba Boys lifted the trophy for the third time in 1970. Brazil was to keep the trophy for life for winning it three consecutive times.
According to reports, the original Jules Rimet Trophy was never recovered, forcing the CBF to commission a replica trophy back in 1984.
The other replica that had been built by the Football Association (FA) in 1966 was bought by FIFA in an auction in 1997. The only original piece of Abel Lafleur’s trophy that is currently available is the original base at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
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