Press Release
Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy by xCruza Receives the Platinum A' Design Award in Awards, Prize and Competitions Design
xCruza recognized for awards, prize and competitions design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 15, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Platinum A' Design Award in the Awards, Prize and Competitions Design category for Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy by xCruza, designed for Fifpro. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Platinum A' Design Award Explained
The Platinum A' Design Award is recognized for honoring designs that stand at the forefront of creativity and innovation. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the A' Design Awards, acknowledging works that blend remarkable innovation with impactful societal contributions. These designs not only showcase exceptional artistic and technical proficiency but also highlight their creators' commitment to advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their role in shaping the aesthetics and trends of our time, contributing significantly to the enhancement of quality of life and promoting sustainable development.
Regarding 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.
Award Record
xCruza is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Award, Trophy, Prize and Competition Design Award
The A' Accolade Design Award is an international design competition recognizing designs of trophies, prizes and accolades by leading designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to accolade designers, trophy designers, prize designers and competition design experts from all countries. Typical entries include awards, prizes, competitions, contests, medals and trophies. The awarded accolade designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/accolade
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/180728
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180728
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180728
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/364892
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://ishortn.ink/World11Design
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Fifpro World 11 Football Trophy
- Function
- Football Trophy
- Category
- Awards, Prize and Competitions Design
- Discipline
- Service Design
- Industry
- Arts and Branding & Advertising
- Colors
- Silver, Gray, Dim Gray, Dark Gray and Gainsboro
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Fifpro
The Recognition
- Laureate
- xCruza
- Country
- Argentina
- Recognition
- Platinum A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180728
Credits
- Team
- xCruza Studio, Carlos Genoud, Victoria Riqué, Mariel Paz and Ignacio Bualó
- Image Credits
- Image 1, 2, 3 and 5: xCruza; Fifpro Video: Fifpro
Design Details
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Realization and 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.
- Operation and Interaction
- 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.
- Project Duration and Location
- 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.
- Specifications
- 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.
- Keywords
- Goal embrace, Collective award, Football trophy, Aluminum, Product design, Anodizing, World 11, FIFPRO, xCruza, By the players, Sculpture
