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ENGLAND 1966 HEROES LAUNCH FIRST-EVER NATIONAL POOLS EXHIBITION
The game which has kept millions glued to their seats every Saturday afternoon awaiting the final scores and paid out a staggering £3 billion in prize money, is being showcased at the first-ever Littlewoods Pools exhibition.
The exhibition, ‘Football and Fortunes', has been created by the National Football Museum and tells the story of the world's oldest and biggest football pool, which has put over £400 million back into football. It was officially opened to football fans at the National Football Museum today. And to launch the exhibition, that is packed with stunning photography, memorabilia and amazing stories, the Museum secured the services of two legendary stars from England's successful World Cup winning team of 1966.
Former Stoke City legend, Gordon Banks , arguably the greatest goalkeeper of his generation, together with former Liverpool star and Kop favourite, Roger Hunt were on hand to open the exhibition. The interactive instillation charts over 80 years of football pools history and the impact the game has had on football fans across the generations.
‘Football and Fortunes' is the first exhibition to celebrate a game which had over 15 million people on the edge of their seats at 4.50pm every Saturday and was immortalised in a famous sketch by Tony Hancock.
From humble beginnings in 1923, when John Moores handed out 4,000 coupons to fans attending a Manchester United home game, to Littlewoods becoming the first sponsor of the FA Cup – this exhibition has it all.
It also profiles Britain's most famous Pools winner, Viv Nicholson, who went on a ‘spend, spend, spend' spree, blowing nearly all her fortune in four years on houses, fast cars and racehorses - despite repeated offers of financial help.
Mark Bushell, Spokesman at the National Football Museum said: "Football is indebted to Littlewoods Pools for helping to make football popular amongst the whole family. Littlewoods played a huge part in making football a national obsession rather than simply a game played by working class men."
Dave Raywood, head of marketing for Littlewoods Pools, said : “This is the first time we have been able to bring all our memorabilia, winners' stories and photography together, to showcase at an exhibition that will bring the history of the Pools to life for football fans of all ages.
“Whether it's having nervously waited for the results to come through every Saturday afternoon, to winning a small fortune - millions of footy fans will have a personal experience or cherished memory of the Pools. We hope that ‘Football and Fortunes' will rekindle those memories and capture the public's imagination in the same way that the Pools has done for over 80 years.”
The exhibition has been generously supported by Arts & Business and by Littlewood Football Pools Ltd.
The Littlewoods Pools ‘Football and Fortunes' exhibition is open to visitors from January 10 – March 31. For further information, or to find out opening times, log on to www.nationalfootballmuseum.com. To play Littlewoods Pools, Spot the Ball, lotto 3 and 4, or the Premier 10 football game, log on to www.littlewoodspools.co.uk