National Football Museum, Urbis Building Cathedral Gardens, Todd St, Manchester, North West England, UK, M4 3BG

The National Football Museum is England’s national museum of football. It is based in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre, and preserves, conserves and displays important collections of football memorabilia. The museum was originally based in Deepdale, Preston, Lancashire, but moved to Manchester in 2012. The idea for what became the National Football Museum goes back to 1994 when Baxi Partnership, a local company, acquired Preston North End Football Club (PNE) and began the redevelopment of Deepdale Stadium. A chance conversation between Bryan Gray, Chairman of PNE, and the Football League, led to a meeting with Harry Langton, the man who over thirty years put together what is now called the FIFA Museum Collection. FIFA recognised the importance of the collection and acquired it from Harry Langton with a view to finding a permanent home. FIFA saw the proposed museum at Preston as an ideal permanent location for the FIFA Museum Collection. Urbis closed in February 2010 in preparation for an intended opening of the new National Football Museum in summer 2011.[18] The museum reopened in Manchester on 6 July 2012. The new museum aimed to attract 350, 000 visitors per year. It was reported in August 2012 that the new National Football Museum attracted over 100, 000 visitors in the first six weeks of opening. By the end of April 2013, the museum reached its 350, 000 target, and was attracting 500, 000 visitors by 2017. From January 2019, the museum adopted a charging model, while remaining free to city of Manchester residents.