Platinum Awards, Prize and Competitions Design · 2026
Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy
by xCruza
- A' Design Award 2026 Platinum Winner in Awards, Prize and Competitions Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Fifpro
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 926,232
- Verification code 8F54962DC2 · Verify this award
About Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy
The Fifpro World 11 trophy is based on Abrazo de Gol, an Argentine phrase for the goal embrace. Eleven components assemble into one cup, expressing a team united in one gesture and shared effort. Voted by more than 28,000 professional footballers, the design works in two states, the assembled cup and a hand held piece for each selected footballer. A streamlined morphology of curve and counter curve gives visual movement to the trophy in both states. Machined from solid aluminum with hand finishing; satin interior, polished exterior, and laser engraving of name and year.
The Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy by Victoria Riqué represents a sophisticated convergence of ceremonial tradition and contemporary industrial design philosophy, emerging from design practices that seek to imbue athletic recognition objects with sculptural presence and conceptual depth while maintaining functional clarity as prestigious awards, the work demonstrates remarkable command of modular construction principles whereby eleven individual components unite to form a complete chalice vessel embodying the collective nature of team achievement within professional football, the designer appears to draw upon a rich heritage of trophy design traditions while introducing distinctly contemporary formal language characterized by flowing organic contours and impeccably refined surface treatments that transform manufactured metal into objects of contemplative beauty, technically the execution reveals extraordinary precision in achieving seamless curvature transitions and mirror-polished surfaces that capture environmental illumination as an integral aesthetic element rather than mere material property, thematically the work engages enduring human fascinations with excellence recognition ritual celebration and the symbolic transformation of precious materials into vessels of honor, the hourglass-derived primary form may reference classical trophy archetypes while the sinuous curves suggest dynamic athletic movement frozen into permanent commemorative form, the design invites consideration of how contemporary makers continue ancient practices of crafting special objects to mark achievement while employing twenty-first century manufacturing capabilities to realize forms previously impossible, viewers might contemplate how such ceremonial objects function within broader cultural systems of recognition motivation and collective identity formation within athletic communities
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Under the concept of Abrazo de Gol, the new Fifpro World 11 trophy pays tribute to the best in the world. Made from solid aluminum, it consists of eleven individual pieces that, when brought together, form a cup, symbolizing the moment when the team merges into a single gesture. Its streamlined design makes it a one of a kind trophy that signals a new era for Fifpro, communicating the value of shared effort in an innovative way.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The dimensions for Individual trophy are H 350 mm, D 68 mm, W 56 mm. Weight, 1.3 kg. When all 11 units assemble into the cup, the overall piece remains H 350 mm with a 215 mm maximum diameter. Each statuette is delivered in a rigid black presentation case with magnetic closure, silver stamped lettering and a velvet lined internal cradle H 388 × W 126 × D 74 mm.
- Tags
- Goal embrace, Collective award, Football trophy, Aluminum, Product design, Anodizing, World 11, FIFPRO, xCruza, By the players, Sculpture
- Production Technology
- Made from solid aluminum, the trophy combines high precision technology with an artisanal finish. Each statuette is machined on a 5 axis Cnc to achieve its three dimensional form, then undergoes multiple polishing stages to create a satin finish on the interior and a mirror polish on the exterior. Each piece is laser engraved with the player s name and the year it was awarded.
- Design Challenge
- The main challenge was to turn a concept as profound as Abrazo de Gol into a three dimensional trophy. Its symbolic meaning had to be translated through morphology and usability: an object that is understood and felt in the hand, while also functioning as a collective system. Externally, the complex geometry had to be manufacturable and consistent: 5 axis Cnc machining plus hand finishing to meet Fifpro s global quality standards.
- Project Duration
- Project started in October 2024 and was formally unveiled on 9 December 2024. In 2024 and 2025, the trophy was delivered worldwide to World 11 players across top clubs such as Real Madrid, Fc Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, among them Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Aitana Bonmatí and Lucy Bronze.
- Operation Flow
- It is a system designed for two states, as a whole, the eleven statuettes assemble to form the cup and individually, each piece is presented to the player and can be held with one hand from the center of the object or with two hands from the base. Its irregular geometry invites the recipient to explore its curves and reveals, with surprise, that each award is part of a larger whole.
- Research
- This design research aimed to make the Fifpro World 11 a collective trophy. The method followed three axes analysis, concept and development comparing trophies and award rituals, then exploring embrace forms via references from art, sculpture and jewelry, using Cad 3D, prototypes and grip fit tests. xCruza and Fifpro participated. The result is an 11 piece modular cup. Impact, scalable system received by world stars, reinforcing inclusion and strengthening the award experience and identity.
- Inspiration
- In Argentina, football is felt deeply, and a goal embrace is more than a hug, it is celebration, recognition, and passion. This popular expression inspired us to design an award in which more than 28,000 professional footballers select the world’s best eleven.
By the players, for the players is the motto of Fifpro World 11, a collective award that promotes inclusion and camaraderie. In this way, the new design breaks with the single trophy logic and is experienced as a collective celebration. - Image Credits
- Image 1, 2, 3 and 5: xCruza
Image 5: Fifpro
Video: Fifpro
Colors of Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy
Grand Interview about Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy
When we begin a design process, we usually look inward first, reflecting on the project in an introspective way: we think about gestures, rituals, and the context from which we are designing. In Argentina, football is something we breathe from the moment we are born: in informal neighborhood fields, in small local pitches, during school breaks, within families, and in the streets.When this project came to xCruza, we had just lived through a very intense collective experience: Argentina had won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the whole country exploded into an immeasurable celebration of joy. For days, the streets across Argentina were completely taken over by people celebrating. We went out into the streets, embraced one another, and released through that celebration all the contained anguish from difficult economic and social moments we had been going through. For a few days, football allowed joy to invade our hearts.That is why, when we began thinking about the trophy, the first thing that came to mind was the desire to transmit that feeling of union and brotherhood, and “goal embrace” was the concept that best represented it. When we talk about the project and say “goal embrace,” we know it means much more: it makes our hearts tighten a little, and it brings a smile to our faces.It is an award that speaks precisely about companionship, team spirit, and collective play. The goal embrace is that moment when everyone becomes one, and one becomes part of everyone. We understand it as a feeling born from our own experience, but one that extends worldwide to every player who has lived it. It can be the greatest star of a team or a player just starting out, but in the moment of a goal, everything merges into an embrace that unites everyone.
We believe this trophy breaks a paradigm within the world of awards. As Gestalt theory suggests, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” and that idea is deeply present in the concept of the FIFPRO World 11 Trophy.We wanted the representation of the concept to appear not only through form, but also through experience. Each player receives a unique and individual piece, but that piece gains its full meaning when it is joined with the others. We wanted each footballer to feel recognized in their individuality, but also as part of something larger.We believe this type of approach can open a broader conversation within the world of sports awards. Recognition objects do not have to limit themselves to repeating traditional symbols of victory or hierarchy. They can also represent contemporary values such as inclusion, cooperation, community, and collective construction.
It was a great challenge. We come from the industrial world: we design mass-scale products, home appliances, electoral systems, and toys. And suddenly we were commissioned to design and manufacture this piece, of which only 22 units are produced each year.That is why we tried to combine our knowledge of industrial production, thinking about the product with a logic of precision, repeatability, and control, while also seeking an artisanal dimension in the finish and final details.We believe we managed to balance these two dimensions: producing 22 identical pieces, with quality and finishing standards worthy of the stars who would receive them, while still preserving the sensitivity and special character of each trophy.
We work as a team and always with a lot of divergence. In the first brainstorming session, when the idea emerged of creating a trophy that would be individual and collective at the same time, the main challenge also appeared: how to make each piece work as a unit in itself and, at the same time, as part of a whole.We worked through many proposals and drew a lot by hand, because in this type of project the expressiveness of the hand cannot be replaced by 3D modeling. Throughout the entire process, we went back and forth, thinking about what the whole should represent and what each individual piece should represent. That is how we gradually refined each curve.We also worked with the morphological concept of “interior-exterior,” contrasting it through form and surface finish. We believe that this process of divergence and convergence, which is always present in the way we design, is what allows us to approach a problem from different perspectives and arrive at an integrated project.
Creative moments are moments of complete uncertainty, and in our country we are very used to uncertainty. Perhaps that is why there is so much Argentine talent, especially in design and innovation: because we have learned to live through crises, to overcome them, and to develop lateral thinking in the face of every problem that comes our way.Returning to the question, we believe the most difficult part was thinking about how to represent the “goal embrace” in a way that was not literal, without falling into a sculptural trophy of figures embracing each other. We wanted the trophy to be an experience in itself, and to represent the concept not only through its form.The morphological development also took us back to our days as students, more than 20 years ago. At university, we did many exercises exploring morphological opposites: exterior-interior, curve-countercurve, polished-satin. We believe that, in some way, that journey reappeared in this project and helped us reach the final development.
It was a highly divergent process, drawing references from different worlds, something that is actually present in all our design processes.Initially, we usually build a moodboard of ideas that we keep expanding and feeding, with the intention of not saying no too quickly. In that first stage, anything can contribute: an art reference, a jewel, a sculpture, a football image, a texture, a sensation, or a way of gripping an object.Then the process begins to organize itself and becomes a kind of loop of divergence and convergence, of moving forward and stepping back. We refine, discard, adjust, and discover which ideas have more strength and which ones begin to build meaning.In the first presentation, we showed several different proposals to FIFPRO. Although we were convinced that this was the proposal that should move forward, we also presented more conservative options, because many times confirmation appears through comparison. Fortunately, FIFPRO was able to see beyond literalness and had the courage to choose the boldest and most disruptive proposal.
Having a design developed by xCruza in the hands of world football stars moves us deeply, both professionally and personally.We strongly believe that design from our latitudes, from the Global South, can build new ways of seeing and offer perspectives that bring fresh air to the world.Through the design of the FIFPRO World 11 Trophy, a window opened for xCruza into a sector we had not previously considered: the design of trophies and recognition objects. We recently designed the statuette for the Exportar Argentina Award, developed for the Argentine Investment and Trade Promotion Agency, where we also worked with a very strong identity-based concept.
Receiving the Platinum A’ Design Award is a very important recognition for xCruza, because it internationally validates a design strategy that was conceptual, technical, and productive at the same time. The FIFPRO World 11 Trophy was not born only as an attractive form, but as a strong idea taken to its fullest consequences: eleven pieces, a collective system, precise manufacturing, and a symbolic experience.This award confirms that Argentine design can project itself globally without losing its own perspective. The concept of “goal embrace” comes from a sensitivity very close to our football culture, but it communicates universal values: team spirit, recognition, belonging, and inclusion.The international visibility of the A’ Design Award can help amplify that story and allow the trophy to be understood not only as an awarded object, but also as a new way of thinking about sports recognition. It also allows more companies and institutions to discover xCruza’s ability to transform identity, values, and strategy into concrete products, manufactured to a high standard and with international reach.
As we mentioned before, we worked on the morphology by exploring it both as a whole and through the individuality of each piece, so that both dimensions would be completely harmonized.We developed high-definition 3D prototypes in our workshop, defining every detail: ergonomics, the relationship with the hand, proportions, contact points, and the way each piece is perceived when held.We even worked on finding the best material alloy, so that the relationship with weight would feel right. We wanted each piece to have presence, value, and quality, while at the same time feeling comfortable and natural in the hand of each player.
The most counterintuitive decision was to represent the “goal embrace” in an abstract and conceptual way, so that it would be experienced through the object and not through a literal sculptural resolution.That decision allowed us to continue working with an industrial logic and to develop a trophy that is innovative, disruptive, and possible to manufacture with precision. Instead of representing figures embracing each other, we wanted the concept to appear in the relationship between the pieces, in the way they assemble, and in the experience of discovering that each part belongs to a whole.We believe that, in addition to being counterintuitive, it was a risky decision. But it was our bet: to trust that the concept could become more powerful if it was not explained literally, but activated through the object and through the experience.