A british chemistry professor has calculated that the World Cup trophy can’t be made of solid gold as it would be too heavy to lift.

Professor Martyn Poliakoff of Nottingham University thinks the trophy must be wholly, or in part, hollow as he’s worked out that a solid gold trophy of its size (36cm tall) would weigh at least 70kg – that’s the same weight as a large adult.

Fifa insists that the metal part of the current trophy, which dates back to 1974, is solid gold and that it weighs 6.175kg, including 4.9kg of solid 18-carat gold and two layers of the semi-precious stone malachite.

After the tournament, no-one gets to keep the actual World Cup trophy as it is kept by Fifa, however each champion gets a gold-plated replica to take home.