Meet the man with a museum of footballs

What the report says

BBC Sport Football reports that Simon Francis, from Modbury in Devon, has turned a personal love of Mitre footballs into a home display he describes as a museum. Francis says his collection now totals 84 balls, with 79 shown above the stairs in his house, and includes models dating back decades. He began gathering them about 12 years ago after being inspired by the footballs and boots displayed on the Sky Sports programme Soccer AM.

Francis said his focus has always been Mitre, especially the versions with the familiar multiple-arrow design that he remembers from childhood. He linked the interest to growing up around the start of the Premier League in 1992, when football became a major part of his life. He has bought balls from online auctions, charity shops and collectors’ fairs, and says he enjoys finding unusual variants and designs that he had not seen before.

Among his favourites are the Mitre Pro-Max used in the first Premier League season and the Mitre Elite, which he received as a mascot for Norwich City at Torquay United in 1996 and which was signed by players and staff. BBC Sport Football says Francis estimates he has spent an average of about £50 per ball, though some cost more and some less. He was also reportedly offered £12,000 for the collection, but says he is not ready to part with it and does not consider the project finished.