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.