Soccer has always been a legacy for English soccer and that is why when fans got an opportunity to view all its memorable collectibles at one place; they simply jump to it. England’s highly reputed soccer temple called National Football Museum got a record number of visitors in its first year of operations in Manchester. Reportedly, it is just celebrating its first birthday at Urbis building after being switched from Preston last year and this shift was rather a tough choice for Manchester City Council who decided to make this move. Last year, it could witness around 100000 and this year they had put a target of 300000 visitors which has been superseded by the actual numbers quite easily. These jewels were available for display in the same museum since 2001 but at Preston North End’s Deepdale ground where it used to gather limited fans from across the world. Looking at the impressive number of visitors; Council’s investment worth £2m per year looks a good investment. Actually, the place, due to its easy reachability, is always filled with visitors but weekends bring the crowd to its peak with more than 4000 to be precise.
Museum director Kevin Moore also praises his decision to make an important makeshift to get more exposure. In fact, the place is now being taken as a celebration point for many families who used to come here to see and cherish all the lovable items of England soccer’s history. Some of the memorable articles reside here are: L.S. Lowry’s painting while going to the match, first ever international soccer match’s captain’s t-shirt, the ball being used in the 1966 World Cup Final, and Maradona’s popular “Hand of God” shirt among others. Again, football photography of Stuart Roy Clarke, which kept running throughout the year, is also one of the main reasons peoples are rushing into it.
Moore said, “We have smashed the target by more than the capacity of Wembley stadium. I’m really pleased. Until you open you never really know how it’s going to go but to break the target is wonderful news.
“Preston is still very important to the museum as its archive but Manchester is a big city and a great flagship. We look forward to welcoming our 500,000th visitor during the coming summer holiday period.”
If visitors keep roaring with a same pace, it is expected to become the first attraction of tourists in Manchester along with the Lowry theatre and the Museum Of Science And Industry.