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.
Read the whole story at Basingstoke Gazette (U.K.) »