Lindsay 
When I heard there was a football museum coming to my home city – the home of football – I could have cried with happiness. Up-yours London! Te he! Though, why would you have it anywhere else, right? The National Football Museum, Manchester has to be on your holiday itinerary, while you’re here, otherwise a trip to this city simply would not be complete.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase from my blog. While clicking these links won’t cost you anything, they will help me to keep The Travel Vine up and running! Click here to read my full disclosure policy. Thanks so much!
The museum is very easy to find, housed in the old Urbis building located across the road from the Printworks. This futuristic glass structure stands out in an area filled with heritage buildings, but it’s an excellent architectural piece.
If you have no allegiance to any specific clubs and are just curious about seeing the museum for what it is, I am sure you will love it. When you first enter, huge TV screens wrap around the foyer, showing images of influential UK players throughout history. Obviously, they knew I was coming that day because when I entered the reception area, Duncan Edwards, an Ex-Manchester United player, appeared on the screens.
He was the David Beckham of his day and also a Busby Babe, but sadly died in the Munich Air disaster of 1958. Of course, there’s a fair bit about Manchester United – the best football team in the world. I am very biased as I am a die-hard fan! You will see tonnes of historical memorabilia from them on display, and for me, I found this very emotional and brought back many happy memories. It was exciting to see the original football shirts from their 1999 European Cup Final game, where they were crowned Champions of Europe. You’d be forgiven for skipping this section if you are not a Manchester United fan… but you might burn in hell. It’s okay if you do, just go and do penance at the cathedral around the corner from the museum.
There is also one of the old World Cups on display too. I absolutely love watching this competition when it is played every four years, so this section was incredibly meaningful for me. There are memorabilia and posters from other tournaments that England has competed in and an interesting area about the national team’s past football managers, which is arguably one of the most challenging jobs in football.
There is also a section about the Bradford Football Ground fire’s terrible tragedy, where many people died. The blaze started by rubbish catching fire under the wooden stands, which quickly spread. As a result, there were sweeping changes regarding fire safety at all football grounds across the UK. Don’t miss the football art section, which is really fun and shows historical memorabilia such as old programs and artifacts from various
clubs. The best section by far, is on the first floor where there is a hologram of Gary Lineker presenting a mock episode of Match of the Day. It was so realistic that he would pick items up from the table displayed in front of him and the objects would move with him. Definitely not to be missed!
Urbis Building Cathedral Gardens, Todd St, Manchester M4 3BG | www.nationalfootballmuseum.com
Thanks for reading this post on the National Football Museum. As you have probably guessed by now, I LOVE football (soccer). It’s not only the excitement of the game that I love, but the life lessons that it teaches you along the way. Such as, striving to do your best no matter what the odds are, never giving up until the final whistle, and the value of teamwork and loyalty. I hope when you visit Manchester, whether you are a football fan or not, head here and re-live some of the history of this wonderful sport, which quite literally brings the whole world together. You can’t get more special than that, can you?
Click on the link below and subscribe to my blog today to follow more of my travel adventures from around the world.
Still looking for inspiration for your next trip to Manchester? Then check out my other blog posts by scrolling to the bottom of this post.
