NEW YORK (AP) — Argentina and Spain will play Sunday for more than just the World Cup trophy. They’re also playing for the ring.
This is the first time FIFA has awarded a ring to commemorate a championship. Receiving a ring for the title-winning team is a tradition in North American sports dating back to the late 19th century, but it is not common in other parts of the world.
FIFA’s move appears to be a nod to that tradition, as this year’s final will be played in the United States. Players on the World Cup winning team will receive gold medals as usual, and the captain and coach of the winning team will also receive temporary rings immediately after the title match.
In the end, the winning team will receive 30 customized rings. FIFA said the World Cup trophy will be placed on one side, while the other side will be created “to reflect the identity of the winning team.”
To celebrate this year, only 2,026 rings will be produced, each individually numbered, custom-fitted and delivered with a unique certificate of authenticity. The 1,996 rings not given to the winning team will be sold to the public.
FIFA has not disclosed the price of these rings.
The tradition of championship rings is believed to date back to at least 1893, when the Montreal Hockey Club won the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the precursor to what is now called the Stanley Cup. The team also ordered a simple band with a small hockey stick attached to the top.
Major League Baseball teams began handing out championship rings in the 1920s, but NBA champions have essentially received championship rings since the league’s inception in the late 1940s, and NFL teams have received championship rings throughout the Super Bowl era dating back to the 1960s.
Some halls of fame present rings to their members, and U.S. Olympians and Paralympians receive rings as part of their benefits package when representing their country on the world stage.
It is now common for all professional sports in the United States, as well as many college, high school, and even youth sports, to award rings to commemorate championships.
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