A spectacular copper Aztec calendar disc presented to FIFA president Sir Stanley Rous during Mexico’s campaign to host the 1970 World Cup could make £35,000 at auction next month.
Unseen publicly for the last 60 years, the monumental 95cm-wide artwork, weighing 5kg, leads Hanson Auctioneers’ football sale celebrating the 60th anniversary of the World Cup on July 30.
The huge disc – featuring the fearsome face of the Aztec sun god Tonatiuh – was handed to Rous in 1962 as Mexico lobbied football’s powerbrokers to bring the World Cup to Latin America.
It was the tournament that brought the legendary Estadio Azteca to global prominence.
Hanson Auctioneers’ sporting specialist, David Wilson-Turner, called the piece “one of the greatest finds” of his career.
He said: “It is a museum-quality artefact linked directly to one of the greatest World Cups in history. Objects connected to FIFA’s inner circle and the awarding of World Cups very rarely appear on the open market.
The huge repoussé copper disc was presented by Guillermo J. Cañedo a key architect of Mexico’s rise as a footballing superpower.
The inscription dedicates the piece to “Sir Stanley Rous” on behalf of the clubs América, Atlante and Necaxa – all associated with the creation of the legendary Estadio Azteca.
David continued: “Two years later, Mexico secured the 1970 World Cup and staged what many still regard as the greatest tournament ever played – Pelé’s Brazil, colour television broadcasts and the drama of the legendary Estadio Azteca.”
Sir Stanley Rous, FIFA president from 1961 to 1974, presided over the moment football exploded into a global television spectacle.
David said: “This object feels like a relic from another age. Today, a gift on this scale to the FIFA president would raise immediate questions. But in the early 1960s, football diplomacy was conducted through prestige, symbolism and personal relationships.”
Research accompanying the disc includes documentary material linking it directly to FIFA insiders and political discussions surrounding Mexico’s bid battle with Argentina to secure the 1970 tournament.
The disc later passed into the possession of René Courté, FIFA’s long-serving press officer and close friend of childless Rous, before eventually emerging from his estate decades later.
After being acquired by a Spanish collector, the disc passed to its current owner in 2017, with the sale documented in the October 2017 issue of Sociedad Coleccionista Española (Spanish Collector’s Society).
The disc is hammered in high-relief copper with intricate concentric Aztec calendar rings, serpent motifs and ceremonial imagery inspired by Mexico’s ancient Sun Stone.
David said: “We are expecting international interest from collectors of FIFA memorabilia, World Cup history, Mexican sporting heritage and museum-grade football artefacts.
“Whether viewed as cultural diplomacy, political theatre or football’s most elegant ‘bung’, the disc captures the moment the World Cup became one of the most powerful prizes in global sport.”
As FIFA president, Suffolk-born Sir Stanley Rous (1895–1986) oversaw World Cups in Chile, England, Mexico and West Germany.
He was forced out of office in 1974, aged 79, by João Havelange after alienating African and Asian countries through his support for footballing authorities in apartheid-era South Africa.
An international referee, he also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962, and was knighted in 1949 for his contribution to the 1948 London Olympics.
Auction Details
Auction: Hansons Sporting Auction: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the 1966 World Cup
Auction date: 30th July 2026 | 10am
Location: Hansons’ Derbyshire Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
