Preston Accommodation

The National Football Museum Preston, at the Preston North End Deepdale Ground

Hall of Fame at the entrance to the National Football Museum Preston

Tom Finney recommended boots, football memorabilia at the National Football Museum

Deepdale Preston North End Ground view, inclusive in Museum entrance

Interactive football games in the Second Half Museum area

Arthur Wharton played for Preston North End from 1886-87 in goal and later went on to become a miner. National Football Museum

The definitive football archive & artefacts collection on show at the National Football Museum

National Football Museum Preston North End Football History Tom Finney British Football

It should be no surprise that the National Football Museum is situated here in Preston in the North West. The region boasts some of the most world famous and historic football clubs including Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Liverpool FC and Everton FC. When the first football league was formed in 1888 in Britain, five of the twelve clubs were from Lancashire including Acrrington, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and Preston North End. It was Preston North End who were the first champions of the football league in 1889, and in the same season they won the FA Cup making them the first team to win the double.

Free to enter and situated conveniently just off Junction 31 of the M6, the National Football Museum offers two fun-packed halves of football history exhibitions and interactive football games plus on-site gift shop and cafe. Ample free parking is adjacent to the museum which is located right next to the historic Preston North End club's Deepdale Stadium. This definitive football museum holds what is widely considered to be the world's best football archive collection. Much of the football memorabilia on display here has been donated by fans and includes an extensive collection of historic football cigarette cards, posters, football board games, postcards, ceramic football player models, footballs, football boots and kit (lookout for famous shirts worn by some of the greatest players including a shirt worn by George Best) and

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National Football Museum Preston

Truly an amazing journey through football history and fantastically interactive for children, the National Football Museum in Preston is one of the North West's top attractions. Every angle of football history is covered here from the famous celebrity football players and managers (see the Wall of Fame at the museum's entrance) to the stories and history behind England's national game. Favourite interactive games include the Goalstriker game where you have to beat the goalie or there's fun for the under 7s in the Footy Fun-Zone play area. All ages will feel at home here. The museum is split into two halves - First Half and Second Half with the ground floor first half focusing on football history and the second half crammed with interactive games.

The museum is located conveniently off Junction 31 of the M6 and a short drive from Preston City Centre, and is free to enter with adjacent free car park. Special changing exhibitions run regularly through the year and have included topics such as 'The Art of Football', and exhibitions on top football stars like the great Tom Finney and Arthur Wharton. Browse through the collections held here at the National Football Museum and you'll quickly realise that exhibitions here pull on quite probably the world's finest collection of football archives and artefacts. This archive includes The FIFA Collection, The Football League Collection, The Sir Stanley Matthews Collection and best of all The People's Collection which consists of objects and ephemera donated or loaned to the museum by members of the public. See a full listing of the collection via the museum's weblink right.

The National Football Museum, Sir Tom Finney Way, Deepdale, Preston, PR1 6PA. Tel. 01772 908442.

Football History at the National Football Museum

Feature exhibitions at the National Football Museum have included one on the great Arthur Wharton. This outstanding footballer and athlete played in goal for Preston North End between 1886-87.

Other featured football stars include Nettie Honeyball, the Victorian women's football player who believed that women should be able to play physically demanding sports if they wanted to. Some of the hidden names in football like the first black players in the 1880s, through to women's football teams which apparently attracted great attention in the early 1920s are explored within the ground floor history section. The pride of the First Half exhibition space is its FIFA collection of football memorabilia, the best collection in the country!

As far back as the 16th century tactics were developed in the playing of 'Calcio' in the squares of Italian cities, pretty rough stuff this was! Before the 1880s in Britain football was largely the property of ex-public school members and the rich who had money to pursue leisure interests. The Harrow School football game was brought north originally to the mills around Blackburn by the son of a mill owner who came to work in his fatheers mills. The game became popular during breaks. When the first football league was finally formed in 1888 the twelve clubs consisted of six from the North and Midlands. The first historic football clubs in this league were Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Five of the twelve clubs heralded from Lancashire!

Other fascinating facts emerge including details on the origins of the game of football in the Far East when it was called 'Kemari'. The object of 'Kemari' however was to keep the ball in the air - a ritual display of balance, skill and control. The 'Second Half' section of the museum is interactive and hands-on, with lots of different football games and you can join Gary Lineker on the 'Match of the Day' panel and have your commentary recorded and played back. The Wall of Fame at the museum entrance includes all the football greats - Stanley Matthews, George Best, Dixie Dean and Preston's own - the Master Tom Finney. Lesser know football greats are here too including Joan Whalley, born in Preston in 1921 and one of the best football players of her time becoming a player in the famous Dick Kerr Ladies and Manchester Ladies.

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