Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The new AFC Women's Asian Cup trophy was unveiled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday. The-AFC.com speaks to Tim Munton, the Commercial Director of the trophy makers Thomas Lyte.
What was your experience like creating the trophy from start to finish?
I joined Thomas Lyte in October 2016 and we started the conversation about new trophies for both the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the AFC Asian Cup in December 2016. So for me to be part of the process all the way through was exciting. The relationship that Thomas Lyte has had with the AFC for many years is something special. You can see that there is lots of respect on both sides in what our organisations do.
I think we are at an important time in the development of not only football around the world but specifically the AFC and football in the region. Also, at such an important time for the women’s game you can see the significance of this trophy way beyond sport, particularly as the competition will be played for the first time in West Asia. So it’s a very special thing to be involved in.
What were the challenges faced in the making of the trophy and how did you overcome the challenges?
Challenges is an interesting word, as it was actually just part of the process for us. The whole process was quite an exciting time for us. The design aspect for Thomas Lyte was a very important part. We love getting our teeth into a project, so we briefed our designers to look at the history of our relationship and the history of the tournament in order to come up with the sort of new design that was modern but also embellished with the real craftsmanship to reflect that. It was great to observe that process, and then the journey, which was the journey from presenting the tender, waiting patiently for the commission to be awarded and going into action with the team in the workshop.