UK-based Nigerian designs new FA CUP trophy to be lifted after final Saturday

A talented Nigerian, Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale, has designed the 2024 Emirates FA Cup trophy which final comes up this Saturday.

The 23-year-old British-Nigerian, known as Olaolu Slawn, was said to have been approached by the English Football Association to design a one-off special trophy after BRIT awards.

He was said to have designed the trophy alongside one Thomas Lyte.

This was first disclosed on X by @whatsonshuffle, saying, “After previous endeavors with the BRITs Awards, Slawn has been commissioned to create the design for the 2024 FA Cup Trophy.”

Olaolu Slawn’s video of the making of the FA Cup trophy was also posted.
Confirming the project on Monday via his Instagram handle, the Lagos-born designer wrote, “Biggest thing I’ve done yet. My tribute to the FA Cup trophy. Slawn and @ThomasLyte. Thank you @EmiratesFACup. Amen.”

Most of Slawn’s works include spray paint, large-scale pop art canvases, graffiti, caricatures and murals.

In 2023, he became the youngest person to design the Britannia statuette for the annual BRIT awards.

His latest work, the FA Cup trophy would be lifted by either side of the Manchester clubs in a derby final at Wembley Stadium, on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

Slawn was born in Lagos, Nigeria on 24 October, 2000.

In his late-teens, Slawn worked at Wafflesncream, Nigeria’s first skate shop, where he met his friends Leo and Onyedi at the shop, and the trio created artwork, skate together, and made films.

Slawn and his friends eventually created an apparel group named Motherlan, and their brand gained popularity in Nigeria and received recognition from Virgil Abloh.

In 2018, Slawn moved to London and enrolled at Middlesex University to study graphic design in 2019.

During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he began to paint, and would hand his artwork to people at parties and established a social media presence for his artwork.

He had his debut exhibition in September 2021 at Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

In 2022, Skepta debuted his first painting on a collection for Sotheby’s auction organised by Slawn for charity.

On May 22, 2023, Slawn opened BeauBeau’s Cafe, a family-run restaurant in East London that is named after his son.