The people of England are rightly proud of football, which has been one of the country’s finest ever exports. Whilst the majority of museums up and down the land are stocked full of precious items that were stolen and pillaged from countries that the English invaded hundreds of years ago, the National Football Museum is one that is dedicated to the Beautiful Game.
It is somewhere that is very much worth spending some time in if you are a fan of the sport, whilst even those that aren’t are unlikely to get bored at the Manchester-based venue, such is the level of artefact on offer.
The Museum’s Origins
It was back in 1994 when a local company called Baxi Partnership bought Preston North End Football Club and began the process of redeveloping Deepdale Stadium. After a chance conversation between the club’s Chairman, Bryan Gray, and the Football League, he was put in touch with Harry Langton, who had put together what became known as the FIFA Museum Collection over a period of 30 years. FIFA decided to buy the collection from Langdon, realising that it had historic relevance, believing that a proposed museum at Deepdale would be the ideal location for it.
Gray formed a small group to work on the project, leading to the incorporation of the National Football Museum as a private limited company in the June of 1995. Two years later and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund was secured, seeing £7.5 million awarded before the Museum’s location on the Bill Shankly Kop was decided upon. It was opened officially on the 21st of June 2001, with Deepdale having been chosen as the best spot for it on account of the fact that it is the oldest continuously used professional football ground anywhere in the world.
In spite of its historic importance, the Museum failed to attract a huge number of visitors, which led to controversy when Brian Mawhinney, the then Chairman of the Football League, suggested that it should be moved to Wembley Stadium. Although around 100,000 people every year went to the Museum, funding remained an issue and so a decision was taken to move it to Manchester, where the Manchester City Council promised a funding package of £2 million per year. So it was that the Preston site closed in 2010, with the Manchester site opening its doors in the July of 2012.
The Building’s Layout
Based in Manchester’s Urbis building, the layout of the National Football Museum is set over four floors. The joint-largest floor is the Pitch Gallery, where you can see replicas of the FA Cup as well as the Premier League trophy on display, alongside a full list of the names that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. There are also spaces for changing exhibitions, which are constantly rotated to keep the Museum fresh. The Match Gallery is the same size as the Pitch Gallery, offering historical items such as the first ever rulebook for football, which dates back to 1863.
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The original painting of ‘Going to the Match’ by L. S. Lowry can also be found on this floor, as can information about the numerous competitions that English teams take part in. England on the World Stage shows you what the national teams of both the men’s and the women’s have achieved, whilst you can also find information about numerous stadiums on this floor, in addition to fun bits of memorabilia alongside information around media coverage of football. There are interactive screens with information about clubs, plus a look at the various players that have played football over the years.
If you have time to sit down in front of a big screen, there is a documentary about Our Beautiful Game, which showcases a month in English football. The Play Gallery is where you’ll want to go if you like your exhibits to be interactive, not least thanks to the numerous paid-for interactive games there. Football For All is an exhibition that explores how football can be accessed by everyone, whilst there are interactive videos looking at Laws, Managers and Performance, plus a Discovery Zone for kids aged under five. Finally, the Score Gallery is another changing space.
Cost & Getting There
The National Football Museum is open every day from 10am until 5pm, with the only exceptions between Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. How much it will cost you to head along to the Museum will depend entirely on how old you are and what your situation is, with the following giving you a sense of what you can be expected to pay and presuming that you just walk up, with ticket prices being slightly cheaper if you pay in advance:
| Situation | Cost |
|---|---|
| Adult (16 Years+) | £17 |
| Child (5-15 Years) | £11 |
| Under-5s | Free |
| Concessions (Students, Seniors, Disabled) | £15 |
| Blue Light Card Holders | £13.60 |
| City of Manchester Residents | Free |
| National Art Pass & Museum Association Members | Free |
The National Football Museum is found in the heart of the Medieval Quarter in Manchester, close to the Central Retail District. It is about a two-minute walk from Victoria Station, which you can reach either by National Rail services or on the tram. It is about 20 minutes from Piccadilly Station on foot. If you want to cycle, then there are five bike racks available.