A WORLD Cup winner’s medal given to a West Auckland FC player in 1909 is expected to sell for more than £9,000.
In 1909, a team of County Durham coalminers beat Juventus to lift the first World Cup. The win secured West Auckland FC’s place in footballing history.
Auctioneer JustCollecting is now selling one of the medals, which is expected to go for more than £9,000 when bids close on November 14.
Mike Hall, from JustCollecting, said: “This is one of the most important artefacts from early football ever to come to auction.
“You can’t overestimate West Auckland’s achievement – when a team of coalminers took on the best sides in Europe, and beat them all. These medals are incredibly rare – there are only a maximum of 11 out there.
“The trophy the team won was stolen in 1994 and has probably been smelted down – making this medal of even greater historical significance than previously.”
Italian sports magazine La Stampa Sportivo established the inaugural Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva tournament in 1908 for the best teams in Europe – although the lack of an English side diminished its prestige.
The following year the English FA refused to send a team, prompting wealthy businessman Sir Thomas Lipton to finance amateur side West Auckland to play.
Lipton also donated a trophy for the tournament which was dubbed the first World Cup.
The amateur side took their place alongside the professional sides of Germany’s Stuttgart, Italy’s Juventus and Switzerland’s FC Winterthur. West Auckland defeated Stuttgart 2-0 before dispatching Winterthur by the same score in the final.
Two years later, West Auckland repeated the trick, beating Juventus 6-1 in the final.
The medal from 1909 displays a football scene in relief, with the artist’s initials SJ. The reverse bears a laurel wreath and globe, with the inscription: “Il Torneo Internazionale di Football Indetto Dalla Stampa Sportiva, Torino, Aprile 1909” .
Both sides retain some of the original gilding. Visit www.invaluable.com and search for West Auckland.
