MANCHESTER is to become the new home of the National Football Museum.

The world-famous attraction - described as 'a jewel' by FIFA president Sepp Blatter - is to be moved from Preston to Urbis in the city centre early next year.

Reputation

It will be expanded to include more interactive exhibits and soccer-themed events to cement Manchester's reputation as Britain's capital of football.

Priceless treasures on display will include Bobby Moore's shirt from the legendary England-Brazil match in 1970, and Stanley Matthews' kit from the 1953 'Matthews' FA Cup final.

The capture of the museum will be seen as a massive coup for the region after other successes - such as securing to arrival of five BBC departments at Salford Quays.

It also quashes fears that the attraction might be moved to London's new Wembley stadium in a blow for the north of England.

The museum is currently based at Deepdale Stadium - home of Preston North End and the oldest football league ground in the world.

It opened in Feburary 2001, with £9.3m of lottery funding put towards the £15m cost. Cash to keep the venture going has been provided by a number of bodies including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Football Foundation - a body launched by the government and the Football Association to provide investment into grassroots soccer.

But in recent years the authorities have struggled to keep up with the rising costs. The 2007 annual report - the last one available - showed the museum generated £791,256 from grants, donations and charitable activities.

Natural

Its outgoings totalled £1,231,195. Bosses at the museum have been seeking a new home and approached Manchester as a fellow 'football city'. City council chiefs pinpointed Urbis as the natural location.

The so-called 'museum of city life' has had a controversial history since it opened in 2002. The council already subsidises it to the tune of just over £2m a year. It is understood that money will continue to go towards the building when the football museum arrives.

Council bosses have a target of up to 400,000 visitors a year - compared to the 100,000 who go to see the museum at its current home in Preston.

Sir Alex Ferguson is a regular visitor and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton - current president of the museum - once said of it: "I can't think of a better museum anywhere in the world." Permanent exhibitions at Urbis, Manchester's 'museum of city life', will be moved out over the coming months once the details of the move are finalised.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester council, said: "Manchester is renowned around the world for its footballing heritage and attracts more visitors than any English city outside London.

"Having a nationally-significant football destination here would make perfect sense so when the National Football Museum approached us we were naturally keen to explore this exciting idea. Talks have been very positive so far."

'Concern'

Paul Dermody, Chair of Trustees of the National Football Museum, said: "While the museum has gone from success to success in Preston since it opened in 2001, the funding of the museum has always been a concern.

"With the backing of Manchester city council, the DCMS, and the football family its future will be secured and the museum's success will continue to expand as the collections and the community work it undertakes will be exposed to a significantly greater audience than at present."

It is understood the football museum will take up the majority of space at Urbis once it is fully installed. The temporary exhibitions in Urbis - which have recently included shows on Japanese manga comics, the Hacienda nightclub, and a retrospective on the life of black American activist Emory Douglas - will continue in the remaining space.

Click here to see how the story has been reported in the Lancashire Evening Post - and reaction from Preston