National Football Museum facts for kids

This page is about the museum in the United Kingdom. For the museum in Germany, see German Football Museum.

Quick facts for kids
National Football Museum

Exterior of the museum in 2012
Established	February 2001; 24 years ago (February 2001)
Location	Urbis, Manchester (2012–) Deepdale, Preston (2001–2010)
Type	Sports museum
Visitors	574,000 (2016)
Public transit access	Manchester Victoria Exchange Square Metroshuttle (Routes 1 & 2)

The National Football Museum is England's main museum dedicated to football. It's located in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre. The museum collects, protects, and shows off important items from the world of football.

It first opened in Deepdale, Preston, Lancashire. But in 2012, it moved to its current home in Manchester.

History of the Museum
Museum Layout
Museum Collections
Gallery
Special Exhibitions
See also

History of the Museum

How the Museum Started

A statue of Tom Finney's famous "Splash" photo, outside the old museum in Preston.

The idea for the National Football Museum began in 1994. A company called Baxi Partnership bought the Preston North End Football Club (PNE). They started to rebuild the Deepdale Stadium.

During this time, Bryan Gray, who was in charge of PNE, talked with the Football League. This led to a meeting with Harry Langton. Harry had spent over thirty years collecting football items. His collection is now known as the FIFA Museum Collection. FIFA bought Harry's collection because they knew how important it was. They wanted to find a permanent home for it. FIFA thought the new museum in Preston would be perfect for their collection.

Bryan Gray put together a small team to work on the museum project. This team included people from FIFA, museums, and universities. The Football Association also helped. The National Football Museum officially became a company in June 1995. It became a registered charity in November 1995.

The Museum in Preston

After a lot of hard work, the museum applied for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. They received £7.5 million in November 1997. The museum was planned to be inside the Bill Shankly Kop stand at Deepdale. The total cost of the project was about £12 million.

Important people like Sepp Blatter from FIFA and Chris Smith MP attended the groundbreaking ceremony in September 1998. The foundation stone was laid in April 2000. Finally, the National Football Museum officially opened on June 21, 2001. The Duke of Kent opened it.

The museum's first location was outside Deepdale, Preston. Deepdale is special because it's the oldest football ground that has been used continuously by a professional club. The museum's president is World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton.

In 2003, the museum and the University of Central Lancashire started the International Football Institute. This group researches the history, social impact, and culture of football.

Many famous football figures praised the museum. Sepp Blatter called it "a superb realisation, a real jewel!" Sir Bobby Charlton said he "can’t think of a better museum anywhere in the world." Sir Alex Ferguson said it does a "great job... bringing the rich history of football to life." The museum even won an award in 2005 for being a top visitor attraction.

In 2008, there was a discussion about moving the museum. The chairman of the Football League, Brian Mawhinney, thought it should move to Wembley Stadium. He believed this would attract more visitors. However, the museum's founders wanted to keep its main home in Preston.

Moving to Manchester

Even though the museum was popular and received good reviews, it often struggled with money. In 2009, the museum's leaders talked to Manchester City Council about moving. Manchester offered a funding package worth £2 million per year. Preston and Lancashire councils then offered £400,000 per year to keep it. But the museum's trustees decided to move to the Urbis exhibition centre in Manchester.

The plan was to keep the Preston site open as a smaller centre. However, they couldn't agree on funding with Lancashire County Council. So, the Preston site closed to the public in April 2010. In 2023, the old Preston site reopened as a fan zone called 'The Gentry Bar'.

The Urbis building closed in February 2010 to get ready for the new National Football Museum. The museum reopened in Manchester on July 6, 2012. The goal was to attract 350,000 visitors each year. In its first six weeks, over 100,000 people visited. By April 2013, it reached its target of 350,000 visitors. By 2017, it was attracting 500,000 visitors annually. Since January 2019, the museum charges an entry fee, but it remains free for people living in Manchester.

Museum Layout

The museum is inside the Urbis building. It has four floors, each with different exhibits.

Some rooms of the Museum

Pitch Gallery – This is the biggest floor. It has areas like:

Trophies: Here you can see copies of the FA Cup and Premier League trophies.
Hall of Fame: This lists all the famous people who have been added to the museum's Hall of Fame.
Changing Exhibitions: This area features different temporary art displays or shows.

Match Gallery – This is also a very large floor. It includes zones such as:

The Game: See items like the first ever rule book from 1863. You can also see the shirt from the first international football match between England and Scotland.
Fans: This section includes the original painting of L.S. Lowry's "Going to the Match."
Competition: Learn about different football competitions and leagues. You can see the original FA Cup and other replica trophies.
England on the World Stage: This part is about England's national men's and women's teams. It features the Jules Rimet Trophy and the match ball from the 1966 World Cup Final. You can also see Diego Maradona's famous "Hand of God" shirt.
Stadiums: Find out about different football stadiums and their designs. There's an original turnstile from the old Wembley Stadium.
Media: Watch old match footage and see clippings. You can even see a sheepskin coat worn by famous commentator John Motson.
Clubs: Use interactive screens to learn about most league clubs in England.
Players: This section looks at different types of footballers. It includes the only Victoria Cross won by a professional footballer.
Our Beautiful Game: Watch a 10-minute film in a cinema. It shows a month in English football at all levels.

Play Gallery – This floor has fun, interactive football games you can pay to play. It also has zones like:

Football for All: This shows how football is played by people of all abilities.
Laws: Interactive screens explain the original rules of football and the role of referees.
Managers: Listen to audio clips from famous managers. You can also see the original Manager of the Year trophy.
Toys and Games: See a collection of different football-related games and toys.
Performance: Learn about the medical side of playing football.
Discovery Zone: A special area for children under 5 years old to play.

Score Gallery – This is another space for changing exhibitions. In 2016, it had a show celebrating 50 years since England won the World Cup.

Learning and Education Zone – This is a special area for school groups and educational visits.

Museum Collections

The museum is a charity. It holds many important collections at its research facility. These collections include:

The FIFA Museum Collection
The Football Association Collection
The Football League Collection
The FIFA Book Collection
The People's Collection
The Football Clubs Collection
The Harry Langton Collection
The Sir Stanley Matthews Collection
The Littlewoods Collection
The Priory Collection
The Neville Evans Collection

The Neville Evans collection is part of the largest private collection of football items in the world. It includes a huge range of football memorabilia. For example, it has the biggest private collection of Tottenham Hotspur items. Over 400 items from this collection are on long-term loan to the National Football Museum. This collection helps share football history with new generations of fans.

The Homes of Football – This is a collection of photographs by Stuart Roy Clarke.

About 2,500 items from the museum's collections are always on display in Manchester. The museum holds about 140,000 more items in total. Some of the most important items include:

Both of the two balls used in the first ever World Cup Final in 1930.
The ball from the 1966 World Cup Final.
A secret copy of the Jules Rimet Trophy. This was made by the FA in 1966 after the original was stolen. England players showed this copy off after winning the World Cup in 1966.
The jersey and cap worn by the England captain in the world's first official international football match. This was Scotland vs England in 1872.
The world's oldest women's football kit, from the 1890s.
The shirt worn by Maradona when he scored the famous 'Hand of God goal' and 'The Goal of the Century'.
The original rules of association football. These were written down when The Football Association was formed in 1863 in London.

Gallery

The original 'Laws of the game' from 1863.
A Football Game, a painting by Thomas Webster.
The oldest surviving FA Cup trophy (used from 1896-1910).
A Wales shirt worn by Billy Meredith in 1908.
A football used in the 1930 World Cup Final.
Club Pennants of the Football League's founder members.
Various trophies and awards on display.
A collection of footballs.
A West Bromwich Albion F.C. shirt from the 1954 FA Cup final.
Memorabilia from the 1966 World Cup.

Special Exhibitions

The museum often loans items to other museums in the UK and abroad. They have sent artifacts to Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, and Belgium. The museum worked with UEFA to create the UEFA Jubilee Exhibition. This show opened in the European Parliament in Brussels. It then moved to the National Football Museum.

The museum also worked with UEFA to create the world's first exhibition about women's football. This was for the UEFA Euro 2005 Women's Championship. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the museum helped develop exhibitions in Hong Kong and Germany.

A special exhibition called "Saved for the Nation: The Story of the FA Cup" opened in May 2006. It featured the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy, which was used in FA Cup Finals between 1896 and 1910.

Other temporary exhibitions have included:

One for All: All for One (March to June 2007): This photo exhibition showed the experiences of a disabled Crystal Palace fan.
The Greater Game: Football and The First World War (December 2014): This explored how football played a role during the war. It looked at famous stories like the Christmas Truce of 1914. It even showed a never-before-seen diary from that event.
Out of Play: Technology in Football (May 2015)
Ferenc Puskás: The World's Greatest Goalscorer (September 2015)
Pitch to Pixel: The World of Football Gaming (October 2015 to June 2016)
1966 World Cup Exhibition (June 2016 to April 2017)
Pelé: Art Life Football (May 2017 to March 2018)
The Game: Thirty Years Through the Lens of Stuart Roy Clarke (March 2018 to March 2019)
Strip! How Football Got Shirty (November 2019 to June 2020)