FIFA unveils NASA-inspired golden Club World Cup trophy created with Tiffany & Co.

FIFA unveiled a golden trophy on Thursday that was created in collaboration with Tiffany & Co. for the contentious and newly-expanded Club World Cup.

With a 24-carat gold-plated finish, the trophy will be lifted by the winners of the tournament in the United States next year.

And despite facing a fierce backlash by players’ unions and leagues, FIFA clearly envisages a long-term future for the tournament, with the prize leaving space to engrave the emblems of the winning clubs for the next 96 years.

“Innovative, inclusive, groundbreaking and truly global, the new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup deserves a trophy that represents all of this,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “It is both prestigious and timeless – a golden trophy that is a symbol of the future and inspired by the past.”

Images released by soccer’s world governing body show the trophy to be a series of discs that can transform from a shield to a “multifaceted and orbital structure.” It features engravings in 13 languages and Braille and sits on a black plinth with FIFA’s emblem in gold typeface.

FIFA said there was space to engrave the emblems of the winners of 24 editions of the four-yearly tournament.

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It added the trophy drew inspiration from “NASA’s Voyager deep-space missions in the 1970s, the periodic table, maps of pioneering journeys and astronomy.”

A replica will be given to each winner of the tournament.

“The FIFA Club World Cup Trophy is the next chapter in our long history of creating the world’s most revered symbols of athletic achievement,” Tiffany & Co. CEO Anthony Ledru said.

The Club World Cup will be played in June and July next year and has been expanded from seven teams to 32.

That has prompted challenge from world players’ union FIFPRO, which has raised concerns about the increasing physical and mental demands on players.

This year’s Ballon d’Or winner Rodri said in September that players were close to taking strike action because of the number of games they are having to play. And Last month FIFPRO’s European division teamed up with domestic leagues to go to the European Union to challenge how FIFA adds new and bigger men’s competitions.

Europe’s top clubs, however, have welcomed the new format, which FIFA hopes will establish itself as one of the biggest club competitions in the world alongside the Premier League and Champions League.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer