Sheffield could get a football museum with permanent exhibition set to open at city library

The Sheffield Home of Football (SHOF) campaign has teamed up with Sheffield Libraries and the Sheffield & Hallamshire Football Association (FA) to bring the exhibition to the Central Library – and it could pave the way for a museum dedicated to The Beautiful Game.

Among the items exhibited will be trophies from former football competitions held in Sheffield and meeting records from 1877 which offer a glimpse into the early years of the world’s most popular sport, including tales of coal being thrown at the referee by angry spectators.

Dr John P Wilson from the SHOF campaign said: “It’s fantastic. It won’t be quite like Barcelona’s trophy room but Barcelona doesn’t have what Sheffield has and would love to have it.

"So many people visit Barcelona or Manchester United, this starts to put Sheffield on the map.”

Organisers hope to be able to welcome visitors from early summer.

Dr Wilson added: “Longer term this could turn into a fully fledged museum within a revamped library or a stand-alone [site].

"We don’t currently have a great deal for visitors. This is just one strand of a big picture to make Sheffield visible.”

Launched in March 2020, the SHOF campaign wants to “claw back more than 160 years of lost history” and make the city synonymous with football.

Historians have uncovered at least 40 footballing ‘firsts’ associated with Sheffield, from the oldest football team and ground to being the place where the corner kick was invented.

Chris Eyre, historian at Sheffield & Hallamshire FA – the world’s oldest county FA – will donate two trophies to the display, including the Sheffield Sunday Schools Trophy, which dates back to 1887 and required players to have attended church for the previous eight weeks before they could take part.

A letter signed by the Vicar was needed to certify this.

Chris, who has been researching the history of the game in Sheffield for two decades, said: “There was so much we gave to to football, this is what the campaign is trying to prove – how important we were to the game.

"I’m very keen that we have something like a museum in Sheffield.”

An agreement has also been reached for Sheffield Libraries to loan several trophies from the Sheffield & Hallamshire FA on a long-term basis for display alongside their County Cup trophy, which last year turned up for sale on eBay after being lost for more than 20 years, and other items.

Pete Evans, archives and heritage manager at Sheffield Libraries, said: “It will also compliment what we already have in the library, which is some very early programmes of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.

"We would encourage people who have other rare and historically important material at home to donate it to the archive.”

Anyone who owns such items, which they would like to be displayed as part of the exhibition, should email [email protected].

Visit www.homeoffootball.net to find out more about the SHOF campaign.