NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Argentina and Spain are playing for more than the World Cup trophy on Sunday. They’re playing for rings as well.
For the first time, FIFA is awarding rings to commemorate a championship. Title-winning teams receiving rings is a tradition in North American sports that dates back to the late 19th century, but something that isn’t commonplace in other parts of the world.
With this final in the U.S., the move by FIFA seems to be a nod to that tradition. Players on the World Cup-winning team will get gold medals, as usual, and the captain and coach of the winning team will get temporary rings as well shortly after the title match.
Eventually, the winning team will get 30 customized rings. The World Cup trophy will be on one side, while the other side will be created 鈥渢o reflect the identity of the winning team,鈥� FIFA said.
Only 2,026 rings 鈥� a nod to the year 鈥� will be made, and each will be individually numbered, custom-fitted and delivered with its own certificate of authenticity. The 1,996 rings that will not go to the winning team will be on sale to the public.
FIFA has not said how much those rings will cost.
The tradition of championship rings is believed to go back to at least 1893 when the Montreal Hockey Club was awarded the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the precursor to what is now called the Stanley Cup. That team also commissioned simple bands with tiny hockey sticks attached at the top.
Major League Baseball teams began giving out championship rings in the 1920s, while NBA champions have received them basically since that league’s inception in the late 1940s and NFL teams have gotten them throughout the entirety of the Super Bowl era that dates to the 1960s.
Some Halls of Fame give rings out to their members, and U.S. Olympians and Paralympians have received rings as part of the perk package that comes with representing their country on the world stage.
Rings are now commonly awarded in all U.S. pro sports 鈥� along with a number of college, high school and even youth sports 鈥� to commemorate championships.
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