Starting a football programme collection
Posted by Sarah on Jan 26, 2009
To effectively start a collection of football programmes, a person needs to choose a theme to his or her collection. There are hundreds of thousands of football programmes available in the United Kingdom, and even more around the world. To give a collection a of meaning a theme should be adopted to avoid unwanted accumulation and to keep to a preferred budget.
Sometimes you come across a programme that joins or crosses two themes at once. These are likely to prove to be valuable acquisitions in years to come as they signify a special or historical occasion, which will revive memories for soccer fans from around the world in the future.
The programme is a good way to remember a memorable event at a particular game. This could come in the form of some sort of achievement such as a player milestone, which can be featured in the programme itself. A player milestone could come in many formats, such as an appearance record, a goal getting record, the final match of a players career, a number of years of service by a player, and much more.
The sadder side of football is also often recorded in match programmes. These historical events attract collectors who see them as poignant reminders of the past. They are sought after and valuable as a result. The disasters at Hillsborough, Ibrox and Bradford have collectible programmes associated with them, not only for the match itself, but also the subsequent commemorative games.
A very collectible set of football programmes to own are those associated with the Munich Air Disaster involving the Man Utd team and Busby’s Babes. The programme from the game against Partizan Belgrade who Manchester United were playing on the tragic trip can sell for over £1000. A similar sum can be achieved for the programme against Sheffield Wednesday straight after the disaster, where the players list wasn’t filled in for the Man United team.
Notable events are usually reflected in the content and design of the programme. Important football programmes to collect are final games in an old stadium, or the first issue within a new one. Most programmes of this type are abundant with interesting articles and historical information, making them a gem in any soccer programme collection.
Programmes often mean different things to different collectors. You may value a prticular programme highly due to entirely personal reasons and memories which they may conjure up. For other collectors the pursuit is one of passion, finding out more about the history and traditions of a football team that they follow. Whatever your reason, collecting football programmes is a very rewarding hobby, and comes highly recommended to any soccer supporter.