(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) They call soccer a beautiful game.
I’m not so sure.
But I will give it this – soccer has a beautiful gold trophy. And by the way, it is by far the most valuable trophy in sports.
But as for the game – I have questions.
First off, what’s with all the falling down?
I mean, I get it. I know it hurts to get kicked in the leg. But do you know what else hurts? Getting hit with a hockey puck. And I don’t roll around on the ice like I’m on death’s door every time the puck hits me. It feels like in soccer culture, the goal is to act as hurt as possible all the time. In hockey, we prefer to hide our injuries and pretend we’re fine. I’ve seen guys with their teeth lying on the ice react less dramatically than some of these soccer dudes.
The fact that players generally jump up moments after this apparently fatal injury, as if nothing happened, makes it seem that much more ridiculous.
Don’t misunderstand. I get it’s a strategy. They are trying to draw the ref’s attention and get a foul or perhaps a penalty kick. I just think it’s a silly strategy that makes footballers seem like big wusses.
And then there’s offside.
I can’t see it.
I’ve had it explained to me dozens of times. I’ve watched videos. I’ve asked soccer friends to help. I get the concept.
But I can’t see it.
This drastically reduces my viewing enjoyment. I get all excited about a goal, and inevitably the ref raises his little flag to tell me it’s offside. How he knew remains a mystery, but there ya go.
I’m looking forward to the day when I see it myself. But I’m not going to hold my breath.
Along those same lines, the video review system in soccer is – interesting. And by interesting, I mean incomprehensible.
I saw a goal called off the board because of a foul that occurred long before on the opposite end of the field. If it were like basketball and there was plenty of scoring, it wouldn’t really matter. But when you may only see one goal a game, having it disallowed because of a phantom foul 30 seconds earlier on the other side of the pitch is a tad frustrating.
A Beautiful Gold Trophy Growing in Value
But about that trophy.
It is beautiful.
And it is gold.
Sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga designed the World Cup trophy. It depicts two figures holding up the Earth.
The trophy weighs in at 6.175 kilograms and is formed from 18-karat gold. In other words, the metal is 75 percent pure gold. Doing some simple math, we find that the gold weight comes in at approximately 4631 grams (4.631kg).
So, what is the melt value of the trophy?
Gold is right around $4,000 an ounce, and 4,631 grams equals 148.89 troy ounces. That means the current melt value of the World Cup trophy is about $596,000.
Now consider this. The last time they played a World Cup (2022), the average gold price was around $1,734 per ounce. At that price, the melt value of the trophy was only $258,170. In other words, the value of the gold in the World Cup trophy is up 130.9 percent in four years!
When they created the World Cup trophy in 1974, the gold was valued at just $25,000!
Interestingly, the trophy is insured for more than $20 million. That goes to show the intangible value far exceeds the cost of the metal.
Unfortunately for the winner, they don’t get to keep the original trophy. The team gets a gold-plated replica, and each player receives a smaller bronze version of the iconic trophy.
In fact, the World Cup trophy cannot leave Switzerland unless it is being transported to a World Cup event.
At any rate, the value of the trophy reflects the value of gold. It’s almost certain that when they play the next World Cup in 2030, the trophy will be worth even more. Or I should say, the value of the dollar we price the trophy in will be less.
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
