•Silvio Gazzaniga designed his winning entry in his studio in Milan’s Brera.

Here’s how Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga created the FIFA World Cup trophy’s iconic design – and why champions never get to keep it.

The Italian sculptor who designed the FIFA World Cup trophy wanted to capture three sporting emotions in a single spiralling form: the athlete’s struggle, the fan’s jubilation and the moment of victory.

On Sunday, either Spain or Argentina will feel a little of all three as the winner lifts the trophy after the 2026 World Cup final.

Ahead of an action-packed World Cup weekend, here’s what to know about football’s most coveted prize.

The World Cup trophy was designed in Milan

When Brazil took permanent possession of the original trophy by winning its third World Cup in 1970, FIFA launched an open competition for a new design. The winner would be a 50-year-old sculptor from Milan.

Silvio Gazzaniga designed his winning entry in his studio in Milan’s Brera neighbourhood.

His design, now familiar to generations of World Cup fans, features two figures swirling up toward an orb representing the Earth.“

When he started to design the cup, he was sketching a huge number of drawings and finally started to develop the idea to have the world and this symbol that it is like a two DNA spirals, that are moving up,” said the designer’s son, Giorgio Gazzaniga, who was a teenager at the time.

The elder Gazzaniga, who died in 2016 aged 95, trained at Milan’s Brera Academy of Fine Arts before joining trophy maker G.D.E. Bertoni.

He later designed some of football’s best-known trophies, including the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup.

Gazzaniga’s design topped more than 50 other entries submitted by artists from 25 countries.

Before Gazzaniga came Jules Rimet

The first World Cup trophy, introduced for the inaugural tournament in 1930, depicted Nike – the Greek goddess of victory – and became known as the Jules Rimet Trophy after the FIFA president who founded the competition.

Designed by French sculptor Abel Lafleur, it was made of gold-plated sterling silver and stood on a lapis lazuli base.

Under the original rules, any nation that won the World Cup three times would keep the trophy permanently. Brazil did exactly that in 1970, prompting FIFA to commission Gazzaniga’s replacement.The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen twice.

The first theft happened in 1966 while it was on public display in England. According to FIFA, a dog named Pickles discovered it beneath a hedge in south London.It was stolen again from the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in 1983.

It has never been recovered and is widely believed to have been melted down.

Gazzaniga’s design topped more than 50 other entries submitted by artists from 25 countries. Rather than submitting sketches, he also produced a full-size plaster prototype, allowing judges to assess the trophy as a finished object, according to his son.

“There is the world, which stands above all else, there is the athlete’s exertion, there is the athlete’s movement within the metal, and the athlete’s body is rough, rugged, for it has suffered, had to fight, and struggled for victory,” the younger Gazzaniga said.

That victory is expressed through arms that resemble the wings of Victory, capturing not only the athlete’s triumph but also the jubilation of the fan,” he added.Gazzaniga’s family has preserved his office at a new location in Pioltello, on the outskirts of Milan, including drawings, the original prototype submitted to FIFA and a wax cast.

Earlier this year, Milan officials unveiled a commemorative plaque outside Gazzaniga’s former studio on Via Alessandro Volta 7, where he designed the iconic trophy.

Why champions don’t keep the trophy

The World Cup trophy hoisted by the winning side at the end of the final is 36 centimetres tall and cast in 18-carat gold.

It sits on a base featuring two rings of green malachite, symbolising the playing fields.Unfortunately for the winners, it goes back to FIFA after the tournament.

The organisation keeps the original trophy at its Swiss headquarters between World Cups.

The winning team receives a gold-plated replica. And FIFA no longer lets three-time winners keep the original, either.

First lifted by West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer after the 1974 World Cup final, Gazzaniga’s design has remained football’s ultimate prize ever since.

• Culled from FIFA

On Sunday 19 July at the New York New Jersey Stadium, Argentina will take on Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.

Kick-off time

15:00 (New York) | 21:00 (Madrid) | 16:00 (Buenos Aires).

The match

The 104th match at the FIFA World Cup 2026 pits European champions Spain against defending world and South American champions Argentina. Spain reached the final after outclassing favourites France in the semi-finals. Luis de la Fuente’s side controlled the match from start to finish, suffocating the high-powered France attack through long spells of possession and precise finishing.

That semi-final match against Les Bleus was the high point of Spain’s campaign so far. La Roja began their World Cup adventure by topping Group H, although it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Surprise package Cabo Verde held them to a scoreless draw in their opening match before De la Fuente’s men made up for their slow start by putting four past Saudi Arabia and then rounding off their group stage with a 1-0 victory over a feisty Uruguay.

Spain cruised through the Round of 32 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Austria. But in the following two rounds they needed late winning goals from Mikel Merino to overcome tough European opponents. The first of Merino’s strikes, in the Round of 16, came against Portugal (1–0) . They followed that up with a second last-gasp victory against Belgium (2–1) in a match in which they conceded what has, so far, been their only goal against of the tournament.Spain’s form has been steadily improving and against France they demonstrated why they were considered one of the favourites before the tournament began.

Sunday 19 July will mark Spain’s first time back in the World Cup final since they lifted the trophy in 2010, when contesting the showpiece for the first time in South Africa.

Argentina have taken a hard, albeit thrilling, road to their second World Cup final in succession and seventh overall. The defending champions opened their campaign with three successive group stage victories, led by the extraordinary Lionel Messi, who now has eight goals in this tournament and 21 across his long World Cup career.

The Albiceleste defeated Algeria 3-0 thanks to a Messi hat-trick, Austria 2-0 thanks to two goals from the magician, and then Jordan 3-1 (with another Messi effort) to round off a perfect group stage.

In the knockout rounds, their road got much more difficult. Lionel Scaloni’s men needed extra time to overcome a defiant Cabo Verde side in a 3-2 thriller.

In the Round of 16, the score was the same and the match even more dramatic: Egypt held a 2-0 lead entering the 79th minute but Argentina flipped the script, producing a historic comeback to win 3-2.

In the last eight, Argentina went blow for blow with Switzerland and need extra time to eventually defeat opponents who, at 1-1, had gone down to ten men. Julian Alvarez eventually broke their resistance with a magnificent goal and Lautaro Martinez added a third for good measure.The drama did not stop in the semi-final against England, who took the lead early in the second half thanks to Anthony Gordon and looked set to run down the clock.

However, the Albiceleste once again rallied thanks to a long-range strike from Enzo Fernandez and a back-post header from substitute Martinez.

As a result, Argentina now return to the final four years on from Qatar 2022 triumph against France, and once again European opposition stand between them and the World Cup trophy.

SOURCE: FIFA

• AVIF image of England v Argentina

FIFA said that fans can now have their say as to which was most impressive from across the six quarter-final and semi-final matches, emphasising that the round of voting for the Goal of the Tournament is now open.

The contenders are Kylian Mbappe (France); Andreas Schjelderup (Norway) Jude Bellingham (England) ,Julian Alvarez (Argentina) Pedro Porro (Spain) and Enzo Fernandez (Argentina).

According to the world football body, this is the latest step in the process towards deciding the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament, with users having 48 hours to place their vote once the window opens.

After the voting window has closed, the winning goal will be announced.Having already had several rounds of voting, there will be one further vote to determine the Goal of the Tournament after this weekend’s final in New York New Jersey