Welcome to the MirrorFootball.co.uk archive

By Steve Anglesey in

Published 16:57 06/08/09

The MirrorFootball.co.uk archive is officially open for business today as we throw open the doors to over a century of football coverage from the Daily and Sunday Mirror newspapers.

We have been publishing since 1903 and now we're blowing the dust off literally millions of words and pictures in order to bring you a history of British football as seen through the eyes of four generations of journalists and photographers.

Our archive will bring you rare and previously unseen images of some of the most iconic moments in football history - from Alf Ramsey's England the day before the 1966 World Cup final to European glory nights for Manchester United and Liverpool .

There will be comprehensive sections on the biggest names in our game, from Dixie Dean and Billy Wright to George Best and Paul Gascoigne , as well as well as keynote events like the Munich Air Disaster and the death of Sir Bobby Robson .

Each feature is accompanied by unique, contemporary text explaining its place in football history, plus a photo gallery and selected pages showing you how the Daily and Sunday Mirror reported the events at the time.

Our archive will grow and grow over the weeks, months and years ahead as we blow the cobwebs off what we estimate are some 5million football pictures (we would have been able to show you more, but Adolf Hitler and a doodlebug which landed on our old offices during WW2 had other ideas).

For now, enjoy the first 100 or so selections from football's past... and get involved with building our archive.

Share your thoughts on our great players and big games by clicking the 'Your Memories' tab and leaving your message. And tell us what you want to see next - or point out anything we might have missed - by emailing archive@mirrorfootball.co.uk .

We'll use this blog to keep you updated on what's coming up and to post a few pictures we think you'll love to see. For now, enjoy the archive...

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!