EXCLUSIVE: FA pay Fabio £6.5million-a-year but CAN'T AFFORD to display Geoff Hurst's '66 shirt
Published 23:00 07/06/11 By Mike Walters
England's dunces have rejected Sir Geoff Hurst’s 1966 World Cup shirt to inspire the Three Lions at Wembley - because it is too valuable.
Although the Football Association can afford to pay Fabio Capello £6.5m-a-year for his pidgin English and poor tactics, they claim Hurst’s iconic No.10 jersey would cost too much to insure.
Hurst sold his 1966 hat-trick shirt, one of sporting memorabilia’s crown jewels, at auction for £91,750 11 years ago, but it was resold to Berkshire property investor Andrew Leslau, for an undisclosed sum, in 2008.
With Hurst’s blessing, Leslau has offered it to the FA for permanent display as a museum exhibit in the tunnel at Wembley.
Hurst’s iconic shirt was valued at £2.3 million for insurance purposes when it went on display at Harrods before last year’s World Cup in South Africa.
But the FA have been scared off by premiums they would have to pay as keepers of the jersey.
As Hurst flew home last night from Baku, where he has been promoting the Azerbaijan FA’s centenary celebrations, Leslau said: “This is not just the most important shirt in England’s sporting history - it is the most valuable in the world, and it should not be hidden away in a bank vault somewhere.
“It is a reminder of English football’s most glorious day, and when the players are lining up in the tunnel to represent their country it should be the last thing they see before they cross the white line, as a reminder of the glory they are playing for.
“Wembley may have changed, but Sir Geoff’s shirt is still the ultimate symbol of sporting success and it deserves its rightful place in the national stadium as a memorial to the boys of ‘66.”
Hurst said: “I would be very happy for the shirt to stay at Wembley - it’s the most appropriate place to put it on display.”
Two years before he died, Alan Ball sold his 1966 World Cup winner’s medal for £164,800 to support his family. The world record for a shirt is £157,000 - for the No.10 top worn by Pele in the 1970 World Cup final.
