FIFA claims of 'solid gold' World Cup rebuffed by 11 stone calculation

The World Cup trophy: solid gold
Gianni Infantino does not strike us as someone who could lift 154lbs (Image credit: Getty Images)

FIFA have long trumpeted the World Cup trophy as being made of solid gold...but that claim has been cast into doubt.

Professor Martyn Poliakoff of Nottingham University calculated back in 2010 that the trophy could not possibly be made of gold all the way through.

It's more of an Easter egg, than a Yorkie essentially.

World Cup would be too heavy to lift if made of solid gold

Argentina won the 2022 World Cup

Emiliano Martinez with the World Cup trophy...or much more likely, the replica given to winning teams (Image credit: Getty Images)

As relayed by BBC Sport, Poliakoff said: "Gold is very heavy, it's one of the densest metals that there is.

"According to my calculations, if it was solid all the way through, it would have somewhere between 70 and 80kg of gold in it."

The World Cup trophy in Toronto

The World Cup has been on tour ahead of this summer's tournament (Image credit: Getty Images)

That translates to 154lb or 11 stone, in old money - way too much to be lifted by a single person without tremendous difficulty.

Poliakoff believes, quite intuitively, that the more likely situation is that when FIFA say 'solid gold', they mean that there is nothing but gold in the main body of the trophy - but not that it is 'solid' in the sense of being gold all the way through.

The professor believes that the globe at the top of the trophy, at the very least, is hollow.

Otherwise, Poliakoff says, "I don't think that it would be light enough for people to wave above their heads, and also it would be a big waste of gold."

Gianni Infantino with the World Cup

The World Cup: two thumbs fresh (Image credit: Getty Images)

The current World Cup trophy has been in use since 1974, when it replaced the old Jules Rimet trophy that England fans will recognise from that iconic photo of Bobby Moore at Wembley.

World Cup winners do not actually take home the official trophy with them after lifting it immediately following the final, but are instead given a replica.

Argentina will be hoping to earn themselves another copy this summer.

Steven Chicken

Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.

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