 |
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
Sunderland Fans Amongst the First to See the New Treasures
Sunderland supporters will get the chance to view some of the world’s greatest football treasures when they visit Deepdale for the Nationwide Division 1 fixture against Preston North End on Saturday 23rd August. And what’s more Sunderland fans will be amongst the first to benefit from the fact that entry into The National Football Museum is now completely FREE.
The National Football Museum which houses the greatest collections of football memorabilia in the world, has recently been loaned some truly outstanding football gems including, unbelievably, the match ball from the first ever World Cup final in 1930 between Uruguay and Argentina. These pieces are tremendous additions to the fantastic collection which already includes such priceless items as the match ball and infamous “Geoff Hurst” cross bar from England’s 1966 World Cup Final triumph against West Germany, the oldest international shirt in the world dating back to 1872 and the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy.
Mark Bushell, Museum Curator, said: ‘This is a great chance for visiting Sunderland fans to enjoy some of the most important objects in football. Several of the games greatest collectors are huge fans of The National Football Museum and have recently agreed to loan some of their most prized possessions.’
And Bushell was keen to point out that the Museums collections include some wonderful Sunderland related objects such as Thomas Hemy’s colour engraving from 1893 depicting Sunderland v Aston Villa - the first great football rivalry. Also included in the collections are ceramic mugs from the 1880s, a penknife from 1895, cigarette cards from 1902 and the FA Cup trophy that Sunderland won in both 1937 and 1973.
Bushell continued ‘Sunderland FC is a club with a long and proud footballing tradition and their fans are recognised as being some of the most passionate in the land. The Museum gives these Sunderland fans the unique opportunity to celebrate the distinguished history of their famous club.’
What’s more on the day of the match The National Football Museum will hold a special fans competition on GoalStriker - our life sized penalty shoot out interactive. Five lucky fans of both Sunderland and Preston North End will be lucky enough to represent their team on the world’s first fully interactive penalty shoot out experience. The event is sure to generate an enormous amount of friendly rivalry especially since two ex-professional players will be captaining the teams.
Richard Cuthbert a spokesman for The National Football Museum urged fans to attend the game early so they make the most of their visit to the wonderful museum and enjoy the wide range of activities on offer. ‘It’s not just about objects in cases. Visitors can play Goalstriker, our life sized penalty shoot out game, where the accuracy and velocity of the shot is recorded and scores given for each penalty. You can play table football where all the action is filmed so that you can enjoy your favourite goals played back in slow motion or you may want to join Gary Lineker as a guest pundit in the Match of the Day studio.’