Name: National Football Museum
Rating: 5.0

National Football Museum

Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 3BG, England

1-90 Years

Paid

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Description

The National Football Museum is a must-visit attraction in Manchester dedicated to the history and culture of football. It houses the world’s largest public collection of football-related objects and archives. It’s an ideal destination for football fans, families, and visitors looking for an interactive and engaging experience.

Visitors can explore multiple galleries including the Pitch Gallery, where you can see replicas of major trophies, and the Match Gallery, showcasing iconic items like the original Laws of the Game and historic FA Cup trophies. The Play Gallery offers interactive experiences such as penalty shootouts, skill-based games, and a junior discovery zone, while the Score Gallery hosts special exhibitions. The museum also features over 40,000 football items, including memorabilia from legends like Wayne Rooney, making it both educational and entertaining.

Ticket prices start from £16 for adults (online), £10 for children, with family tickets from £44, while Manchester residents and under-5s can enter for free. Concessions and discounts are also available.

Overall, the National Football Museum offers an exciting and immersive journey through the world’s most popular sport. Its mix of historic artifacts, interactive exhibits, and engaging displays makes it enjoyable for all ages. It is a must-visit attraction for anyone visiting Manchester.

Features

Paid
Host birthday parties: Yes

Features

Whether you’re a football fanatic, planning a family day out or visiting the great city of Manchester, the National Football Museum is the place to learn more and share stories about everybody’s favourite game. The National Football Museum is home to the world’s largest public collection of football objects and archives. We house over 40,000 items in total, at the museum in Manchester and at our Research Centre in Preston.

Pitch Gallery

Kick off your visit in the Pitch Gallery with the opportunity to have your photo taken with our collection of football silverware, including our very own official replicas of the Premier League and Women’s Super League trophies.
Alongside George Best’s Mini Cooper, this space also hosts a programme of special exhibitions and workshops. Make sure you check out our What’s On programme prior to your visit!
Our current Pitch Gallery programme includes ‘Yard Ball’ – packed with street football vibes and nostalgic fun, Yard Ball invites players of all abilities to take on challenges that will improve players’ balance, hone their accuracy and finesse their footwork.

Match Gallery

The Match Gallery is the largest display space within the museum and houses our most significant and rare items. Here, we tell the many interwoven stories of the game, from the formation of the world’s first football association and the founding of the FA Cup, through to the national side’s performances on the world stage. We also look at various aspects of the game through key objects from our collection.

Gallery highlights include:

The original ‘Laws of the Game’
The oldest surviving FA Cup trophy
The First Division trophy
1966 Jules Rimet Trophy replica and match ball
The Lily Parr statue

Play Gallery

As the name suggests, this gallery focuses on the different elements of playing the beautiful game and its impact on popular culture. Our popular interactive games and our junior Discovery Zone space are also located on this floor.

Gallery highlights include:

Penalty Shootout (additional £3 per three kicks)
Pass Master
Shot Stopper
Discovery Zone (ideal for our youngest visitors!)
LMA Manager of the Year trophy
The history of footballs
Shirts worn by Wayne Rooney, Ian Wright & Peter Schmeichel
Premier League Player by Rezzil VR

Score Gallery

The Score Gallery space is dedicated to our programme of special exhibitions. Our latest exhibition is Head, Shoulders, Knees & Goals where friends, families and fans alike can discover how we think, play and celebrate football.
Open from Friday 27th March to Sunday 1st November 2026. Make sure you check our What’s On guide when planning your visit to the National Football Museum.

Facilities

Food & Drinks: Treat yourself to a half-time brew or post-match snacks in our museum cafe. The cafe is open daily, Monday to Sunday (10am – 4pm).
Toilets: The Pitch Gallery features men’s, women’s and accessible toilets, as well as baby changing facilities and a prayer room.
Shop: Our gift shop has a range of football souvenirs and memorabilia for fans of all ages. The shop is open every day, as well as online.

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Price

Price: Paid

Price Details

City of Manchester Resident: Free
Adult (16+ years): Online £16 / Walk-up £18
Child (5–15 years): Online £10 / Walk-up £12
Under-5s: Online Free / Walk-up Free
Family Saver (2 adults, 2 children / 1 adult, 3 children): Online £44 / Walk-up £49
Concessions (Students, seniors): Online £14 / Walk-up £16
National Art Pass and Museum Association Members: Free
Blue Light Card holders: Online £12.80 / Walk-up £14.40

Pricing URL: https://nationalfootballmuseum.com/visit-us/

Birthday Parties

Offer Birthday Parties: Yes

Birthday Party Details

Venue Hire

A unique and unusual venue in the heart of Manchester, the National Football Museum provides a fantastic backdrop for a range of different events. Located in Manchester city centre, right next to Victoria Station, our iconic glass building has a range of spaces available for hire.

From dinners and awards ceremonies to parties, and brand activations, our events team will work with you to ensure that you and your guests have a truly memorable and distinctive event. Alongside this we can offer one-of-a-kind experiences such as tours, handling sessions and curator talks tailored to your audience.

Pitch Gallery: The ideal setting for large parties, dinners, awards ceremonies and more. The Pitch Gallery offers a versatile contemporary space for your special event, which seats up to 250 for dinner or 400 for an informal event.
Box Gallery: The top two floors of the museum offer a self-contained space with beautiful panoramas of the city. The space can host 40 for dinners, 50 for meetings or up to 120 for receptions,
The Dugout Cafe: Our cafe complements both the Pitch and Box Gallery, offering a great space for networking and breakouts as well as a lovely social area for lunch away from the main event space.

Open daily 10am – 5pm
(last admission 4pm)

Address: Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 3BG, England

Post Code: M4 3BG

Council: Manchester

County: Greater Manchester

By Car: The National Football Museum is located in Manchester’s iconic Urbis Building in the heart of the Medieval Quarter and close to the Central Retail District, Norther Quarter and NOMA.
By Bus: Manchester has an extensive bus network including a fleet of fully electric vehicles on certain routes. There is a bus stop (code NP) right outside the museum on Corporation Street served by many different routes. The free city centre Metroshuttle service number 2 stops at the museum and links directly to Deansgate and Oxford Road train stations as well as other Metroshuttle services.
By Train: Victoria Station is a 2-minute walk from the museum and operates regional services to and from Bolton, Southport, Wigan, Preston, Blackburn, Liverpool, Manchester Airport, Edinburgh, Rochdale and Leeds. Piccadilly Station is the city’s principal station and connects to locations across the country, including the east coast main line to London Euston and Manchester Airport. Piccadilly Station is a 20-minute walk to the museum. Alternatively, you can take a short Metrolink tram ride to Victoria Station and then a 2-minute walk to our entrance.