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Since 1928, the traditional Baltic countries football cup tournament will once again have its historic trophy. The initiative of the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) to restore the prize for the best Baltic national team was presented on Tuesday at the LFF headquarters.
The authentic trophy belonged to the occupiers
The idea to revive the trophy that was established more than eighty years ago arose after the 2005 Baltic Cup tournament held in Lithuania. Initially, it was decided to search for the original trophy.
"Looking at old pictures with neighbors from Latvia, we noticed the beauty and uniqueness of the trophy. This trophy is a part of the football history of three countries, so the question arose where the original trophy is. We decided to find it, buy it back, and return it to the Baltic countries," said LFF general director Julius Kvedaras, who initiated the project.
A public announcement was made to search for the trophy, and inquiries were made to the Russian Federation. Historical sources indicated that after the occupation of Lithuania in 1940, the tournament was abolished, and the Baltic Cup trophy was handed over to the USSR authorities.
"Red Sport" newspaper wrote on September 10, 1940, that after the tournament in Riga, during the conference of the sport representatives of Soviet Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, "it was decided not to compete anymore for the established Baltic football cup, but to hand over this cup to the Soviet TKT Physical Culture and Sports Committee, which will treat this cup appropriately."
The original disappeared without a trace
According to witnesses, the trophy was last seen in Moscow. A few years ago, LFF sent a football historian and statistician Gediminas Kalinauskas to search for the original trophy in the Russian capital.
"LFF funded my trip to Moscow, where with the help of contacts, I managed to find the archive caretaker, as well as explore other sources. However, we did not find the trophy or any trace of it in the archives, museums, or anywhere else. It is speculated that someone may have taken the trophy at one of the USSR federation celebrations. Now it either lies in some unknown place, or more likely has been melted down, as the trophy was made of silver," G. Kalinauskas recalled.
Restored trophy will remain in Lithuania
After failing to find the original, it was decided to reconstruct the trophy based on photographs. The images showed that the trophy consisted of three people holding a football on their shoulders. The reconstruction project was agreed to be financed by the football federations of all three Baltic countries - Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
The work was done by the well-known sculptor Džiugas Jurkūnas. The restored trophy was enlarged, with all the previous winners of the trophy engraved on it from 1928, and handles were added. The trophy is made of natural materials and weighs about 27 kilograms.
LFF national team director Robertas Tautkus stated that it will be more fulfilling for the footballers to win this unique trophy: "Until now, the previous trophy was simple and undistinguished. Now we will have an exceptional trophy. In the future, there are plans to make a similar trophy for the Baltic youth (U-21) national team competitions."
Since the last national team tournament was won by the Lithuanian footballers last year, the restored trophy will first travel to the museum at the National Football Academy in Kaunas. The Baltic Cup competition, held every two years, is scheduled to take place in Estonia in 2012."
