Want to keep the WC trophy at home? FIFA ready to play ball

PANAJI: The FIFA World Cup trophy remains the most coveted piece of silverware in world sports. Held once every four years, only a select group of elite players lay their hands on the trophy. It includes some of football’s greatest icons. There’s Pele, Bobby Moore, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Lothar Matthaus, Andres Iniesta and most-recently Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to a famous triumph at Qatar 2022. Now, even fans have the chance to lift the trophy high above their heads and keep a piece of history at home. For a price, of course!

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the most recent FIFA World Cup Trophy (1974-2024), the governing body for football has come up with limited-edition, solid gold official trophy replicas.

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“The 50th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Replica is part of the FIFA Classics licensing programme,” a FIFA spokesperson told TOI on Monday.

FIFA has positioned the gold trophy replica as a valuable collectible piece and it can be acquired only through invitation.

“These are exclusive trophies, a piece of football history,” said Donn S Kabiraj, CEO and founder of Donn Corporation, the Indian company that acts as the promoter and distributor for the trophies. “Each of the trophies is crafted from 1kg of 24-karat .999 pure gold. There are just 11 pieces available worldwide, so only a select group can call themselves lucky.”

Kabiraj, whose company is headquartered in Chennai, has been spreading the word through his network of contacts and has been pleasantly surprised with the response.

“There’s interest from elite collectors, football clubs, celebrities, football fans from across the globe. Countries like UK, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA and Spain are in the forefront,” he said.

India is not too far behind. “Here, so far, the major demand has come from Mumbai, Kerala, Delhi and Bengaluru,” said Kabiraj.