Take the Gameboy, Leave The World Cup

• Basingstoke Gazette (U.K.), Thursday, December 11, 2008 3:15 PM

Burglars broke into a U.K. residence in the small English town of Chineham, Hampshire, earlier this month and took a television, a games console, a cash box, a handbag and a wallet. But they left behind the World Cup.

Satyam Computer Services Marketing Director Sandeep Thawani was looking after one of a handful of gold-plated replica World Cup trophies after his company held a launch event at the David Beckham Academy in London to mark a sponsorship deal it had secured with FIFA for the next two World Cups. The trophy was in the bedroom of Mr. Thawani's 11-year-old son. Following the break-in, the trophy was swiftly flown back to FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland. Bad luck, kid.

"We have got security protocols for the real trophy and for the replicas, which are similar to those in place for the FA Cup and the Premier League trophy," said FIFA press officer Alex Stone. "FIFA is now in discussion with Satyam to discover what happened and to ensure that such occurrences cannot happen in the future. We are happy that the trophy is safe, but sorry that this man's house was burgled."

England has a poor history of looking after World Cups. The current trophy's predecessor, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was stolen while on display in London prior to the 1966 World Cup. It was found by a dog named Pickles beneath a garden hedge one week later. A few years later Pickles reportedly choked to death on his own leash while attempting to chase a cat. His demise, we hasten to add, had absolutely no connection to "discussions" with FIFA.

 

 

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