If you’re wondering where the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy is now, it’s in the midst of a two-month journey around the planet before making its way to Paris by May 2. As of today, it’s actually leaving Los Angeles, California, and making its way to Seoul, South Korea, to kick off a tour of the Far East.
The Women’s World Cup trophy differs from the men’s in that a new trophy is constructed for each women’s champion to take home. There is only one official men’s World Cup trophy, made up of solid 18-karat gold and semi-precious malachite, and the raw material worth of that trophy is an astounding $20 million.
The winners of the men’s tournament do get to take a trophy home, but it’s a replica version that’s gold-plated rather than solid gold, meaning that it has a precious metal value of $150,000. In contrast, the trophy that the winning women’s side gets to take — made of sterling silver clad in 23-karat yellow and white gold — has a precious metal value of $30,000.
But that’s still more than the precious metal value of most sports’ major trophies (although it’s important to note that we’re not factoring in the high-end labor of these trophies. For example, the Lombardi trophy takes four months to make — there’s no glue involved and the only sheets of high-grade silver big enough for the model are found in Italy).
The WWC trophy falls between the men's version and the Stanley Cup with regards to precious metal value.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy was designed by William Sawaya in 1998 to "capture the athleticism, dynamism and elegance of international women’s football," and it was first presented at the '99 World Cup. It’s handcrafted by Milanese specialists Sawaya & Moroni, and the names of all previous Women’s World Cup winners are engraved underneath the base.
FIFA Women's World Cup Winners:
1991: USWNT
1995: Norway
1999: USWNT
2003: Germany
2007: Germany
2011: Japan
2015: USWNT
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