Inside the World of Collecting Football Memorabilia

So you have your prized collection of football programmes gathering dust or old football shirts that don’t fit anymore stuck in a closet somewhere. They have sentimental value to you, but in the world of collecting football memorabilia, they’re practically worthless.Enter the world of the serious collector.This week, Sotheby’s is hosting an auction of sporting memorabilia (May 7-8 at Sotheby’s Olympia saleroom). One of the items available for bidding includes a rare 1938 Football League scroll found in the bottom of a cupboard and kindly donated by football historian and author Simon Inglis.Other rare items include:

• Frank Lampard’s right boot
• England international cap from 1889
• Aston Villa FA Cup winners medal from 1895
• Phil Neal’s England shirt from the 1982 World Cup
• Ray Clemence’s goalkeeping jersey from the 1977 European Cup tie versus St. Etienne
• David Beckham’s Manchester United jersey from the 1999 FA Cup Final
• And more than 1,000 other fascinating sporting collectibles.

Browsing through the collection, it’s plausible that some footballers (or their families) may have fallen on tough times financially, which is why many of their treasured items are for sale to the public. For example, former Spurs and England international Maurice Norman has a massive collection of his memorabilia for sale through the auction. Liverpool legend Phil Neal has more than 20 items for sale including a Manager of the Month plate, Liverpool shirts and more.