Football has been played, in one form or another, since at least the 3rd Century BC. It has evolved over the centuries – with many and frequent modifications to style, rules and regulations – to become the game we know today. You may know it as soccer, depending on where you’re from, but no matter what you call it – the beautiful game remains the most popular sport on the planet.
The significance of football, and its impact on cultures around the world, can hardly be quantified. A testament to the game’s popularity is the fact that its governing body, FIFA, has more members at 208 nations than does the United Nations itself.
Football permeates nearly every aspect of our lives today, from a child’s dreams to follow in the footsteps of legends to Israeli-Palestinian matches, conducted to ease political tensions between the two countries.
The beautiful game serves as a bridge – connecting people all over the world and bringing them together. Some might follow only the weekend game, others are more enthusiastic about their favorite teams and players, and yet others are so fanatic about the game that it borders on religious fervor.
Regardless of which category one might fall under though, footballs fans around the globe are all united in their love for the sport and everything associated with it, such as signed football memorabilia.
The Significance of Memorabilia
Football is no ordinary sport. Football is passion – indeed, for many, it is a complete lifestyle. It gets passed down from generation to generation, with son following father into the fandom of a particular team. The players on these teams are idolized and hero-worshipped globally, and the gear they use becomes treasure to the fans.
Autographed football memorabilia, such as signed football shirts and various other accessories with football signatures, are valued particularly because of their rarity. They become objects of desire, to be treasured and to be displayed proudly, declaring the love for a particular player or team.
The Purposes of Memorabilia
Signed football memorabilia, especially authentic ones, are rare indeed and thus can be incredibly expensive. The reasons people would part with huge amounts of money to purchase such autographed football memorabilia are many and varied.
Sentiment: Most fans purchase items such as signed football shirts or other accessories with football signatures purely out of sentiment. These memorabilia serve as an expression of their love and devotion for a particular team or player. They are then put up on walls or encased in glass cabinets to be displayed to friends, family and guests.
Collection: Accessories with football signatures and other football merchandise are collected by passionate fans, just like books, stamps and coins are. These collections serve either as personal treasure troves or proud monuments for their favorite teams and players.
Significance: There are particular pieces of memorabilia which are extremely limited in number, or are related to one significant event. They could have particular historic significance attached to them or might be part of a special edition release. As such, they are even rarer and more valuable compared to other football memorabilia, and are highly coveted by the more zealous of fans.
Occasionally, the people who buy such items might not even be real fans, but may only be attracted to the purchase so that they can show them off proudly.
Investment: As expensive as such authentic, signed football memorabilia can be, they only increase in value over the years. Football memorabilia dealers specialize in locating such items that can serve as long-term investments.
Say a football player passed away, leaving behind only a limited number of signed football shirts. These shirts would become incredibly valuable in the future, as new generations of fans search for an item to own from a legend of the past.
Family Heirlooms: Authentic and rare pieces of football memorabilia, such as ‘I Was There …’ shirts and autographed items become proud and precious possessions for fans across the globe. Merchandise from a favorite team, a signed shirt from a favorite player, or a souvenir from a historic game – they are all owned and taken care of with pride, devotion, and even jealousy.
Over time, they might become extremely valuable financially as well. And just as passion for a football team is passed from father to son, these memorabilia are handed over as family heirlooms too.
The Source of Memorabilia
There are thousands of football memorabilia dealers around, yet it might not necessarily be a good thing. Firstly, such variety of dealers may become confusing and make it harder to choose a particular one.
Secondly, it becomes extremely difficult and frustrating to separate the reliable dealers from the bogus ones. It is essential to opt for a reliable football memorabilia dealer though, as autographed football memorabilia can easily be faked and sold as part of a scam.
The demand for football memorabilia is high, and the prices that some of these items sell for are even higher. As such, there is massive potential for fraudulent business in the market. Fans can often be gullible due to their passion for the sport, and end up losing huge amounts of their money on worthless pieces of junk.
It becomes even more important then, to find a trustworthy dealer, someone like Up North Memorabilia.
Up North Memorabilia
Up North Memorabilia was born out of a passion to collect authentic autographs. What had started as a personal collection grew so huge that its owner started trading, and then selling, parts of it until he founded a company upon it.
Since its establishment in 2003, the company has gone from strength to strength, eventually to become one of the most trusted sources of autographed memorabilia, football or otherwise, for collectors around the world.
So, whether it is out of pure passion and devotion, or part of a long-term financial plan, one can find all kinds of rare and valuable memorabilia here.
The items on sale might include a signed goalkeeper glove or a hand-signed football boot, one can rest assured that whatever they purchase from Up North Memorabilia is guaranteed to be authentic, and to provide value for every cent and dollar spent on it!
Written by Katherine G.
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