On Thursday evening, the all-new 2016 Copa America Centenario trophy was unveiled. With the champion of this summer’s competition being awarded the new hardware, understandably there are a few questions around the two trophies that now exist around the historic tournament.
Over the last few months, the original Copa America trophy has been making its way around the United States in an effort to help promote this summer’s tournament. Dating back to 1916, the impressive silver Grecian urn was presented to CONMEBOL by Argentina’s Foreign Relations Minister ahead of the inaugural tournament there. Lifted many times by a number of different champions, the aging original trophy was replaced by an exact replica in 2011 and has since been lifted by Uruguay and Chile, respectively. The wooden based below the cup also displays plaques of the winners, in similar fashion to the way the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup has team names and players engraved on its trophy every year.
Learn a bit more about the history and construction of the original Copa America trophy below:
While the old trophy is great and will continue to be a special prize, a special, commemorative trophy was created for the 100-year anniversary of Copa America this year.
Using the silver silhouette of the original trophy as inspiration, the new trophy took a creative twist, interlinking gold curves to the classic Grecian urn to convey 100 years of soccer history in the Americas. These brand attributes respect the unique visual cues of the Copa America trophy in a modern way – Classical and Bold.
The trophy uses satin and glossy gold on the outside to highlight the significance of the “Centennial” anniversary, an engraved continental map of the Americas and is topped with the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF emblems. The inside of the trophy is polished in silver, paying homage to the original trophy and its 100-year legacy. Lastly, the trophy base displays the names of the 16 participating countries in an upward spiral format.
The Copa America Centenario trophy will be making its way around the United States this summer. Make sure to stay tuned to our social channels for updates on where to see it!
