HANGZHOU, May 30 -- Top scorers at the upcoming UEFA Nations League Finals will receive a trophy with a touch of China as Alipay, a payment platform under China's e-commerce giant Alibaba and the official partner of the tournament, which was revealed here on Thursday.
According to its designer Zhang Zhaohong, the trophy design draws inspiration from the first character of Alipay's Chinese name. The character resembles the posture of a player poised to shoot when written in the elegant 'small seal' script, an archaic form of Chinese calligraphy dates back to the Qin Dynasty more than two thousand years ago.
The player is sculpted in an European style to combines Chinese and European cultures, and he is presented with bare feet, which highlights the idea that anyone can play football with just passion and a ball.
"The trophy's unique and dynamic design is a fitting complement to the exciting atmosphere and football that we expect for the culmination of the inaugural Nations League Finals 2019," said UEFA'S Director of Marketing Guy-Laurent Esptein.
This is the first time Chinese elements have been included in the design of UEFA tournament trophies, and the gold, silver and bronze Alipay Top Scorer Awards will be given to the top three players on the scoring list.
Portugal, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands will feature in the inaugural UEFA Nations League Finals in Porto and Guimaraes, Portugal from June 5 to 9.