Mr. Langton sold his collection to FIFA on the condition that an exhibition centre was established in Preston, his home town and the cradle of modern-day football. It was here that workers first had Saturdays off, allowing them to spend their afternoon watching football. Standing out among the trophies and football memorabilia is a football shirt from when the local team had its first official match against Scotland in 1872. From the first model of football board game made in 1884 with painted tin players, to stadium bells and rattles from the 1900s, cups, figurines, mascots, garments and accessories, all the pieces of the collection were originally bought for next to nothing and are now worth a fortune. Why the wages have soared to such amounts can be guessed when the roar of 8000 joyous fans erupts from a speaker activated by photoelectric cell to simulate the stadium atmosphere for those who might not be familiar with it.
Football is more popular than ever and means big business.