National Football Museum
Encyclopedia
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Preston, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
founded to preserve, conserve and interpret several important collections of association football memorabilia. It was built outside Deepdale
Deepdale
Deepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...
, which as of 2010 is the oldest continuously used football league ground in the world. Its president was World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton.
The trustees voted to move the museum to the Urbis
Urbis
Urbis is an exhibition centre located in Manchester, England. From 2002 to 2010, the centre hosted changing exhibits on popular culture topics including urban living, art, music, fashion, photography and videogames alongside talks, gigs and special events....
exhibition centre in Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
, with Preston initially becoming a secondary site. Urbis was closed in February 2010 in preparation for the new National Football Museum and in April 2010 the museum's trustees confirmed the move to Manchester will go ahead. The new museum is due to be opened in late 2011. The relocation is aimed at maximising visitor rates, with the City of Manchester predicted to bring in four times as many visitors a year.
After initial hope that the Preston museum could be kept open as a "public face" for football history in the city, the inability of the Lancashire County Council and museum's Trustees to agree on funding confirmed the permanent closure of the museum.
Collections
Located at the DeepdaleDeepdale
Deepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...
stadium in Preston, the museum opened in June 2001. It is an independent charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
holding the following collections:
- The FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
Museum Collection - The Football AssociationThe Football AssociationThe Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
Collection - The Football LeagueThe Football LeagueThe Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
Collection. - The Wembley Stadium Collection.
- The FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
Book Collection - The People’s Collection
- The Preston North End F.C.Preston North End F.C.Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
Collection - The Harry Langton CollectionHarry Langton CollectionThe Harry Langton Collection includes cultural memorabilia and sporting items relating to the history of football and forms the core of the National Football Museum, which is due to reopen in Manchester, England early in 2012....
- The Sir Stanley MatthewsStanley MatthewsSir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
Collection - The LittlewoodsLittlewoodsLittlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970s. In 1981, it expanded to a call centre, processing orders via telephone. At its...
Collection - The Priory Collection
At any time, around 2,000 items from the museum’s collections are on display, with a further 30,000 items held. Key items include:
- Both of the two balls used in the first World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
Final in 1930. - The ball from the 1966 World Cup Final1966 FIFA World Cup FinalThe 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth football World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany on 30 July 1966 at Wembley Stadium in London, and had an attendance of 98,000. England won 4–2 after extra time to win the Jules Rimet...
. - The replica of the Jules Rimet Trophy, made in secret by the FA in 1966 after the original was stolenTheft of the Jules Rimet TrophyThe Jules Rimet Trophy, awarded to the winner of the football World Cup, was stolen in 1966 prior to the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England. The trophy was later recovered...
, and paraded by the England players at the World Cup Final in 1966. - The England captain’s jersey and cap from the world’s first official international football match, England v Scotland, in 1872.
- The world’s oldest women’s football kit, from the 1890s.
Research
The National Football Museum, in partnership with the University of Central LancashireUniversity of Central Lancashire
The University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
(UCLan), has launched the International Football Institute (IFI). The IFI's purpose is to "undertake research on all aspects of football and make this research available to the widest possible audience".
Exhibitions
Many exhibits are loaned to museums in the UK and artifacts have been loaned to exhibitions in Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and Belgium. The museum has worked in partnership with UEFA to create the UEFA Jubilee Exhibition, which opened in the European Parliament in Brussels, before moving to the National Football Museum. The museum also worked with UEFA to create the world’s first exhibition dedicated to women’s football, to coincide with the UEFA Euro 2005 Women’s Championship. To mark the FIFA 2006 World Cup the museum worked with partners to develop exhibitions in Hong Kong and Germany. A special exhibition "Saved for the Nation: The Story of the FA Cup" which features the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy, used during FA Cup Finals between 1896 and 1910, was launched in May 2006. It has toured at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle and from June 2007 was at the Milestones MuseumMilestones Museum
Milestones Museum is a museum located in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. It is made up of a network of streets that have been recreated on those found in Victorian and 1930s Hampshire....
in Hampshire.
The museum has a temporary exhibitions programme with the next special exhibition entitled "One for All: All for One" which runs from 3 March 2007 – 3 June 2007. This photographic exhibition highlights the work of Philip Colvin. Phil documented the experiences of disabled Crystal Palace FC supporter Samuel Burch as he travelled across the country in support of his team. The photographs show the challenges and obstacles that Samuel faces as he travels to football matches and how he overcomes them. The images also show the support he receives from fellow football fans. Phil’s photography project shows just what can be achieved by those with mobility difficulties and he hopes that it will encourage others with disabilities to discover the enjoyment of following their local football team.
The exhibition is part of the Museum’s ‘Developing Football for All’ programme. ‘Developing Football for All’ aims to celebrate the contribution of disabled people to the game of football through a programme of exhibitions and workshops and will take place at the museum between March and June 2007.
Visitors numbers
Between July 2004 and June 2005 the museum attracted 107,000 visitors and had just over 19,000 children in the museum's education and outreach programmes. The museum received the award of Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, at the 2005/06 Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards.Publications
The museum has made the following publications:- Eyewitness Football, published by Dorling Kindersley: Sold over 50,000 copies worldwide and has been revised and updated for a paperback edition
- Football's Greatest Heroes: The National Football Museum Hall of Fame, published by Robson Books: Book based on the Hall of FameEnglish Football Hall of FameThe English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum, currently being relocated to Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become...
.
The museum also produces a weekly column in the Lancashire Evening Post newspaper every Tuesday.
Praise
- Sepp BlatterSepp BlatterJoseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
, the President of FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
commented: “The National Football Museum merits my admiration as a footballer and as the President of FIFA — it is a superb realisation, a real jewel!” - “I can’t think of a better museum anywhere in the world.” Sir Bobby CharltonBobby CharltonSir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
, President of The National Football Museum