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United by Football: Stories from 1966 to celebrate the World Cup

Members of the National Football Museum’s Sporting Memories Club recently took part in an intergenerational project funded by the Woodroffe Benton Foundation that saw members reminisce about England winning the World Cup in 1966 with young people from Manchester.

Taking place at the National Football Museum in Manchester, 10 young people who are part of a youth group at Manchester United Foundation and 10 Sporting Memories Club members came together in an enjoyable and fun session.

Sharing Memorabilia and Tales from ‘66

Our members came along armed with their own memorabilia which included scarfs, an old iron that came along with a football memory, a copy of the World Cup winning medal and a VHS of the game signed by Geoff Hurst. These were complemented by objects from the museum including a knitted World Cup Willy mascot - during the session, it was mentioned that you could buy the pattern to knit your own mascot in 1966!

Using 1966 World Cup memorabilia and personal memories, participants discussed how football culture has changed over time and what traditions remain important today. A couple of the members were lucky enough to attend the final between England and West Germany at Wembley, with them sharing their reflections of the historic day:

“It was easy to get tickets for all games aside from the final. We had to go into a ballot, which we sent off for by letter. I got two tickets and wanted to see Bobby Charlton score but Beckenbauer marked him well.”

“Towards the end of the game, I stood on a bench with a stranger but the bench broke, we fell and I missed the goal!”

Other Club members also discussed how they watched the game at home - which was on a rented TV where you only had two channels in black and white. They remembered that the copy of the Radio Times for that month “was special”.

Embracing the memories

The young people listened intently, taking down notes of the memories, laughing and being surprised at some of the things being said such as hearing that there were no substitutes allowed. Our members gave a great insight to the 1966 World Cup and shared many more stories and memories including:

“I was interested in seeing how many Man United players were in the teams, so did not take that much interest in England initially. But I was looking forward to seeing Pele.”

“I was 11 years old at the time and living in Ireland. There were only 16 teams in them days but I had never watched so much football! Eusébio and Pele really stood out – what players they were.”

“I didn’t know a lot of countries or that they played football. Portugal and West Germany were the best teams to watch and North Korea were under dogs – no one knew anything about them.”

“The enthusiasm in the country at the time was really good, similar to that of the London Olympics in 2012.”

“To see fans, Union Jack and England flags was a joy.”

“Brazil brought lots of fans but other teams didn’t – now fans come from around the world.”

“If VAR was in place then – we would not have won the World Cup!”

After the young people had asked questions, it was time for the Club members to put their questions to the young visitors. A great conversation followed about current players and who they thought was going to win the 2026 World Cup. It was an enjoyable day for all with young and old creating a bond and sharing stories.

Creating works inspired by the session

After being inspired by the conversations, following the session the young people stayed at the Museum to work collaboratively to create poetry, models, writing and visual artwork that connect past, present and future football experiences as shown above. This included:

Poetry and Mini World Cup House:

Inspired by Club member Allan bringing in his mum’s iron, the object sparked recollections from the Sporting Memories group of families gathering around televisions and radios while everyday life carried on.

Winners at Wembley - The Letters of 1966

Inspired by a 1966 World Cup winner’s medal and England’s victory in the final, the group created letters that imagined the emotions of that historic moment. 

Poetic Perspectives on the 1966 World cup - England Scarf

The group created poems that gave a voice to a scarf worn during England’s 1966 World Cup campaign. Inspired by discussions with the Sporting Memories group, it explores national pride, changing identities and the belief held by some supporters that England stood at the centre of football.

All of the pieces will be displayed, alongside the Club members memories in the museum during the World Cup. If you happen to be in Manchester in the coming weeks, do pop in and take a look!

Reflections on a successful project

Kelly Hart, our Director of Impact and Fundraising was thrilled with how the project went and how the session enhanced Sporting Memories ever-growing intergenerational work.

“This was a fantastic small project, that brought older and younger football fans together and share memories. Everyone was smiling and you could see how much everyone really enjoyed being part of.

“We know intergenerational activities have a great impact on well-being for both our members and young people which is why we created our Memory Makers resources. Our thanks to the National Football Museum and also Manchester United Foundation for being part of a great project!”