FIFA World Cup TM Commemorative Coins

Government Mints issue Commemorative coins to commemorate some particular occasion or special event, like the FIFA World Cup. Commemorative coins do pre-date the 1960s, but became a more regular feature after this time. These coins have distinct designs with reference to the occasion for which they were issued. Some coins serve only as collectors’ items, but many mints issue commemorative base metal coins for regular circulation. Prior to World War II, commemorative coins were always made of precious metals. Gradually, the use of precious metal coins became increasingly restricted, and almost abandoned about 1970. Coins made from precious metals ceased to be circulating currency, used in everyday transactions.

The increase in coin collectors world wide created a demand for commemorative coins. Hence forth, the coins were divided into two types; those made from base metal and issued as everyday currency, Circulating commemoratives are intended to be used for commerce, but the design will only be issued for a limited time, is intended to draw some attention to a specific event or person ; and non-circulating medal-like coins made from precious metal for collectors only. Non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) are coins which are legal tender, and can in theory be used to purchase goods or services, but are not intended to be used in such a manner. Rather, they are intended to be used only as souvenirs, and are often produced in gold or silver with a proof finish.

Circulating and non-circulating commemoratives are usually issued jointly and the events these coins commemorate, such as the World Cup, are chosen based on a perceived market, rather than events of significance to the country. Almost every nation has issued commemorative coins, but those countries with smaller domestic populations direct their non-circulating commemoratives towards the international market.

Governments anticipate commemorative issues such as coins, bank notes and postage stamps, encourage local people to collect them as keepsakes, thereby taking them out of circulation. The cost of producing these is a fraction of their face value, and when taken from circulation, this constitutes a profit to the government. This is called seigniorage, and can generate millions to a national treasury.

Numismatics describes the systematic study of currency and includes the collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. Coin collectors, on the other hand keep coins or other forms of minted legal tender. To the serious collector, the grade of the coin is a main determinant of its value, but most collectors are hobbyists, and amass a collection purely for the pleasure of it with no real expectation of profit. Since the beginning both medals and coins have become popular souvenirs of the FIFA World Cup TM.

At first commemorative medals were struck and avidly collected by enthusiasts.

The 1966 FIFA World Cup TM, was hosted by England. The National team went on to win the final and all manner of memorabilia from this period became highly collectable. The mascot was World Cup Willie and a medal keepsake was struck featuring the cartoon character.

Other more rare commemorative medals were struck for collectors.

In 2016, the Royal Mint marked the 50th Anniversary of England’s victory at the 1966 FIFA World Cup TM, with a limited issue of a set of coins which feature the original design by Royal Mint coin designer Emma Noble, who was inspired by England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup™ logo. The set includes Brilliant Uncirculated, Silver Proof and Gold Proof coins. A donation from each of the official 1966 World Cup coins purchased will be made to The Bobby Moore Fund.

By 1970, many smaller promotions sprang up, including the Esso World Cup Coin Collection. Esso (now part of the Exxon Mobil group) commissioned 30 coins depicting the England squad for the FIFA World Cup TM. The coins were made of solid metal alloy and wrapped for distribution through petrol stations. The coins were given away with every gallons of petrol purchased. Cleverly the sealed pouches meant the coins were offered unseen making it necessary to swap duplicates if the collection was to be completed. Esso supplied a free red card with 30 slots to hold the coins. A blue mounting board made of thick carboard could be bought from Esso petrol stations for 2/6. The board had pre-cut holes to mount the coins. A very rare, set of coins was made of solid bronze by the Franklin Mint for presentation by the Esso Petroleum Company Ltd. Sir Alf Ramsey was presented with a Sterling Silver set by Franklin Mint.

In 1990, Esso reprised their coin collection to celebrate the Home team qualification of both Scotland and England to the World Cup finals in Italy.

Other countries including, Ras al-Khaimah, an emirate of the United Arab Emirates issued circulating commemoratives coins fr the 1970 FIFA World Cup TM.

More commemorative coins were issued for the 1974 FIFA World Cup TM Germany.

These coins are from Argentina to commemorate 1978 World Cup TM Argentina.

The People's Republic of China issued un-circulated commemorative coins which were sold abroad, not in China. The set struck at the Shanghai Mint , included one gold, one copper, and two silver coins. The theme was commemorated as a modern Chinese coin series despite the fact that China failed to qualify for the group stages. The 1982 12th FIFA World Cup ¼ oz gold coin bears a glaring error in the inscription on the reverse face. The incorrect character is the final one of the reverse inscription, and should be 赛 sai4, meaning competition. Only 1261 gold coins were minted, making them highly collectable . The coins were designed by two female contributors: Zhong Youqin designer of the gold, silver and copper coins of the 1980 Winter Olympics and 1980 China Olympic Committee series; and Chen Yanyin artist and leading female in the world of oil painting and sculpture in the PRC.

Both Spain and Ethiopia issued commemorative coins for regular circulation.

The celebrate the 1986 FIFA Wolrd Cup TM Mexico Non-circulating commemorative coins were struck including a gold 1986 Mexico 250 Peso 1/4 oz Proof Gold World Cup Coin. Mexico also issued commemorative base metal coins for regular circulation.

Ames Research Center Tests World Cup Soccer Ball

(Video Courtesy:


NASA's Ames Research Center Youtube Channel)

Vladimir Putin greets football teams & fans

(Video Courtesy: RT Youtube Channel)

T-model to Telstar 18: the evolution of the World Cup ball

(Video Courtesy: Guardian Football Youtube Channel)

Goalkeeper | The Loneliest Job in Football | Documentary

(Video Courtesy: FourFourTwo Youtube Channel)

Football Beasts: An inside look at Europe’s football hooligan subculture

(Video Courtesy: RT Documentary Youtube Channel)

Russia cracks down on hooligans at the World Cup

Russian authorities over the years, have made a concerted effort to clampdown on hooligans and antisocial behaviour including any kind of organised violence at football matches. Centre “E”, is the official anti-extremist centre operating from the Interior Ministry and made several hundred arrests forcing Russian soccer firms to move away from the stadia and organise clandestine fight clubs in nearby forests intead. Leading up to the World Cup, more arrests have been made as the once politically favoured soccer hooligans have lost support. Russian hooligans are not, overtly political but a majority of ultras position themselves against the Kremlin, and there is a clear split in the movement on the issue of the Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine. Stiff prison penalties face anyone exercising hooligan behaviour during the tournament. Overseas fans travelling to the games need to be neatly dressed otherwise they face detention and expulsion.


(Video Courtesy: FRANCE 24 Youtube Channel)

Russian cosmonauts play football on the ISS

(Video Courtesy: AFP news agency Youtube Channel)

2018 World Cup Russia coins minted.

The Central Bank of Russia commissioned a special batch of four commemorative silver three ruble coins dedicated to the 2018 FIFA TM World Cup. There is also be a commemorative 25 ruble coin made from non-precious metals. Around 24,000 of each of the four coins will be released into circulation.

Each of the 3 ruble coins are engraved, on the obverse side with their own special image depicting landmarks around Russia: the ‘Motherland Calls’ monument in Volgograd, the Nizhegorodskaya Kremlin in Nizhny Novgorod, the ‘Soyuz’ rocket carrier in Samara, and the memorial monuments in Rostov-on-Don. All of those cities will host World Cup matches. Engraved on the reverse of each silver coin is the image of a footballer with a ball, a line representing the flight of a ball, folk decorations, and famous landmarks from Russian cities.

The reverse of each 25-ruble non-precious metal coin features an embossment of the FIFA World Cup trophy. The same trophy, filled in with color, will appear on the back of coins in special circulation.

A special investment coin for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia (face value 50 rubles) has on the obverse side, in the centre the relief image of the National Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation with the semicircular inscription (along the rim) "РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ" (Russian Federation) framed by doubled rhombuses. Below under the coat of arms and to the left are indications of the precious metal and its fineness; to the right is the fine metal content and the mint trade mark, at the bottom in the centre, in three lines, the inscription: "БАНК РОССИИ" (Bank of Russia), the denomination of the coin: "50 РУБЛЕЙ" (50 ROUBLES), the year: "2018 г." (2018). On the reverse is an image of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, with the inscription in five lines: "ЧЕМПИОНАТ МИРА ПО ФУТБОЛУ FIFA 2018 В РОССИИ" (2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA).


(Video Courtesy: Ruptly Youtube Channel)

Video Assistant Referee (VAR)

At the 2006 World Cup TM, FIFA assigned a fifth official to assist the fourth official in a variety of tasks, and potentially to be called upon to replace another match official if necessary. The fifth official might also stand beside the goal-line, to adjudicate when the ball crossed the goal line. They also had access to television coverage of the match, but were not permitted to advise the on-field referees of any incidents they had missed.

In 2014, FIFA, sanctioned goal-line technology after a complication arose during a round of 16 match at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Frank Lampard (England) thought he had scored an equalizer against Germany, which was disallowed. Lampard shot hard from the edge of the penalty area and the ball struck the underside of the bar bouncing a yard behind the German goal line. Despite the incident clearly being caught on camera, the referee, waved play on, and Germany went onto win 4-1. As a consequence of the vigorous debate which followed, FIFA decided to introduce goal-line technology.


(Video Courtesy: Mark James Youtube Channel)

International Football Association Board (IFAB) have finally and fully approved the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at the FIFA World Cup TM in Russia. Despite controversy and huge unpopularity the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) system has been written into the Laws of the Game on a permanent basis. VAR will be used to correct any "clear and obvious errors" in relation to:

- Goal/No Goal:
The role of the VAR is to assist the referee to determine whether there was an infringement that means a goal should not be awarded. As the ball has crossed the line, play is interrupted so there is no direct impact on the game.

- Penalty/No penalty :
The role of the VAR is to ensure that no clearly wrong decisions are made in conjunction with the award or non-award of a penalty kick.

- Direct red card (not a second yellow) :
The role of the VAR is to ensure that no clearly wrong decisions are made in conjunction with sending off or not sending off a player.

- Mistaken identity:
The referee cautions or sends off the wrong player, or is unsure which player should be sanctioned. The VAR will inform the referee so that the correct player can be disciplined.

From the 1st June 2018, VAR technology will also be available to pick up any off the ball incidents which the referee may not have spotted. Once confirmed the referees will be informed and can send the player(s) off in the case of red card incidents.


(Video Courtesy: FIFATV Youtube Channel)

VAR is the use of referring a decision to a highly-trained match official (a current or former referee) who is watching the game from a room full of televisions. Specific rules govern how the video analysis can be used.


(Video Courtesy: FIFATV Youtube Channel)

The referee may request the review or by the video assistant referee VAR, when they observe an off the ball incident and need to bring this o the referee’s attention. The official signal for a video review is the referee making the outline of a rectangle with his index fingers (indicating a video screen). This precedes both any on-field review OFR as well as any change in the original call.

Players who demand a video review by making the rectangle motion are to be cautioned with a yellow card. Players who enter the area where the referee conducts an OFR are also to be cautioned with a yellow card, and team officials who do so are to be dismissed.

The process begins with the video assistant referee(s) and the assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) reviewing the play in question on a bank of monitors in the video operation room (VOR) with the assistance of the replay operator (RO). When the VAR believes a potential clear error has occurred , he or she will contact the referee.

The referee can then either (a) change the call on the advice of the VAR or (b) conduct an on-field review (OFR) by going to a designated spot on the sideline, called the referee review area (RRA), to review the video with the help of the review assistant (RA) or (c) decide that he/she is confident in the original call and not conduct an OFR. The referee is allowed to stop play to reverse a call or conduct an OFR, but is not supposed to do so when either team is engaged in good attacking possibility.

Over two years, extensive trials were conducted worldwide including at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, Bundesliga, and Serie A. The Hyundai A-League in Australia became the first to use a VAR system in a professional league game in 2017. The system was later introduced to most top-tier European leagues at the beginning of the 2017–18 season, with the exception of England's Premier League. VAR was later used in bothEngland and France.

The VAR system has met with a mix of reactions from players, managers and supporters. Many remain confused as to how the system works claiming it creates as much confusion as clarity. Fans are especially annoyed at the time it takes and the silence which surrounds ajudication. Technical problems such as cameras malfunctioning or being blocked by supporter’s flags add to the chaos which surrounds the use of VARs.


(Video Courtesy: Berita Sepakbola Youtube Channel)




(Video Courtesy: Breaking News 2018 Youtube Channel)

Perhaps the most convincing evidence of VAR failure came in the 2018 Huani A-League grand final between Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory. VAR software suffered a technical malfunction which prevented the assistant referee from viewing the replay and a clear off side goal for Melbourne was allowed and they went on to win the game 1-0. The incident was primarily the result of a short-term failure of the technology rather than human error on the part of the VAR team. However, on the eve of the FIFA World Cup TM 2018, the video assistant referee (VAR) failure at the Australian final reverberated around the world.


(Video Courtesy: Football Review Youtube Channel)

Heading the ball: Potential Health Hazard

Hilderaldo Bellini , was the first captain of Brazil, to win the World Cup in 1958 when Brazil beat Sweden 5 -2. He was also the first winner to hold the cup above his head for the waiting paparazzi.



(Video Courtesy: KINGofSOCCERhistory Youtube Channel)

Sadly ‘O Capitão’ died in 2014, aged 83 and it was initially attributed to complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease. However, at the post mortum, it was later discovered Bellini’s demise was due to an advanced case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The degenerative brain disease had previously been associated chiefly with boxing and American football.

In Scotland, Frank Kopel, (Dundee United and Manchester United) was just 59 when he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia and died aged 65 in 2014. He was initially diagnosed with vascular dementia but his wife Amanda was not satisfied and consulted a US-based neurologist who believed from his history Frank's dementia was probably misdiagnosed and caused instead by Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, caused by knocks to the head. As a player, Frank scored a wonder goal against Anderlecht in 1979 whch is regarded as one of Dundee United's finest ever goals.


Other high profile players have died as a result of complications from dementia including; Ally MacLeod (Blackburn Rovers) and Jeff Astle (West Brom and England), with many others like Mike Sutton (Norwich), living with degenerative brain disease. A linear study to examine the potential connection between head trauma in soccer and dementia was undertaken with fourteen (14) retired footballers diagnosed with dementia and referred to the Old Age Psychiatry Service in Swansea between 1980 and 2010. Twelve later died of advanced dementia. Another cadaver study carried out by researchers from University College London and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, involved the brains of six deceased players. The study, spanned four decades, and the deceased had played football from childhood through their teenage years and beyond (an average of 26 years). When the brains were examined, all six had signs of Alzheimer’s, and there was clear evidence of CTE in four. This is the first UK study to provide scientific evidence of a link between heading a football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Encouraging as these findings are from small studies more work is required.


(Video Courtesy: Progressive Soccer Youtube Channel)

Presently soccer is the only football code where participants are deliberately engaged in repeated head impacts. Scientists are aware repeated head trauma has the potential to cause damage, but to date no attempt has been made to ban it from the adult game football. Although there has been several studies showing the dangers of concussions during contact sports, there has been none looking at the impact of regular smaller blows to the head. The Einstein Soccer Study (2018) demonstrated using the head to control the football is more likely to result in concussions than other head impacts sustained during play, including collisions with elbows, heads and even goalposts. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology,

Subjects were recruited from both experienced and active amateur adult footballer populations in the New York area. Subjects with history of existing psychological or neurological disorders were screened out. Players were asked to self-report any impacts to the head and any subsequent symptoms covering two weeks of activity, using a validated questionnaire known as HeadCount, providing a set of results . Participants were also required to completed an in-person neuropsychological assessment during the same two-week period. The assessment used a variety of tests to measure recall, verbal learning, psychomotor speed and attention span. Many participants repeated this protocol at three- to six-month intervals across a 37-month period, yielding 741 complete sets of data from more than 300 participants, four-fifths of whom were male.

The study finding suggested heading incidence was a significant factor in reduced performance in the areas of psychomotor speed and attention, and to a lesser extent on working memory. Players headed the ball an average of 50 times during each two-week study period for men, and 26 for women, and those who reported the most headings demonstrated poorest performance on cognitive tasks. Unintentional knocks to the head, however, were shown to have no significant effects on any area of neuro-psychological testing.

An earlier study from the University of Stirling asked a group of football players to head a ball 20 times fired from a machine designed to simulate the pace and power of a corner kick. After just a single session of heading they found that memory test performance fell by between 41 and 67 per cent. They found there was increased inhibition in the brain immediately after heading and that performance on memory tests was reduced significantly. The changes were temporary, but had the potential, with repeated bursts of heading the ball to adversely affect brain health. This was in all probability a likely outcome when players was exposed to heading the ball over a career.

In the United States, the US Soccer Federation recommended a ban on heading for all children aged 10 and under as part of its Recognise to Recover program . This recommendation was implemented in 2016. Heading the ball has been banned in the US for children under-11 and the Professional Footballers’ Association last year called for a similar ban to be considered in the UK.


(Video Courtesy: U.S. Soccer Youtube Channel)

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