The 'National Jersey, National Pride' exhibition shows the long history of Turkish football.

The exhibition, “National Jersey, National Pride,” which began its trip in Istanbul's Dolmabahçe Museum, where it remained until the end of last weekend, is going to Kocaeli and Bursa next in its some 30-station route, and takes visitors on a  journey through the 85-year history of the Turkish National football team.

The exhibition also shows football shirts of the past, which looked more like knitted pullovers, and were replaced by those made of  acrylic fibers and carried the logos of sportswear giants like Adidas and later, Nike.  At the exhibition visitors will be unable to view most of the original versions of the oldest football shirts, and will have to settle with replicas.

Collectors have the chance to buy a piece of football history when the goal line from the 1966 World Cup final is auctioned by King Sturge this month.

The Wembley Stadium goal line has been the subject of discussions and debates for decades thanks to England hero Geoff Hurst’s controversial second goal.

As every football fan knows, Hurst's shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced on the line. The German players claimed the ball didn't actually cross the line but the Swiss ref, Gottfried Dienst, and the Russian linesman Tofik Bakhramov, said "Goal" so it stood.

England football legend, John Barnes is visiting all Premier League clubs to collect signed shirts from Britain’s top flight as part of a five day UK wide Van-Dash in aid of charitable campaign Score Ethiopia – a partnership between Wash & Go shampoo and educational charity Link Ethiopia.

 The shirts will be auctioned off to raise funds for water amenities, schools and football facilities in the Gondar region of Ethiopia through the Wash&Go Score Ethiopia Ebay auction. 

John Barnes visited the town of Lalibela and experienced Ethiopia’s critical needs as well as the people’s passion to play football even in the face of adversity.

He said: "All over the world people play football with whatever they can get their hands on. A can, rolled up clothes or a milk carton make a ball. But rarely have I witnessed such passion for the ‘beautiful game’ as I did in Ethiopia. The sport brings communities together, promotes health and well being. However, Ethiopia is a beautiful yet very poor country. Wash & Go’s Score Ethiopia is looking to raise as much money as possible to deliver vital amenities and football facilities. A little money can make a lot of Ethiopian’s happy!"

Following on from its success with the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Licensing Programme De La Rue Holographics has been reselected to provide a highly secure anti-counterfeit solution to protect FIFA’s official licensed merchandise, including products for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

The solution, which will be deployed globally, incorporates an easy to authenticate holographic label and holographic swing tag with SLSNet, an online ordering and tracking system. It will enable FIFA to uphold its brand values and make it easy for football fans to identify original official products.

The new FIFA holograms integrate advanced design techniques with De La Rue’s latest hologram technology. The 2006 FIFA World Cup demonstrated the growth of the brand, reaching out to more than 26 million television fans in 214 countries. A premium portfolio of licensed products with merchandise available all year round through the planned new FIFA Official Stores will further strengthen FIFA’s ties with football fans of all ages.

To celebrate the PFA's centenary, Manchester Art Gallery opened The Beautiful Game exhibition, a selection of the association's art collection, including 20 significant works and a host of football memorabilia. The Beautiful Game sees over 20 significant works on loan from the PFA in celebration of its centenary year.

From posters to paintings and cartoons to ceramics, the collection includes a wealth of football related material acquired by the PFA under the leadership of Gordon Taylor.

Striking images to feature in the exhibition range from depictions of world famous football stadiums to scenes of amateurs having a kick about in the park. The works range from early 20th century pieces, such as a program and souvenir from the England Cup Final in 1906, through to a series of contemporary posters specially commissioned for the PFA's centenary year.

Among the exhibition highlights is Going to the Match, one of Lowry's best-loved works, portraying Bolton Wanderers fans on their way to a game. This prestigious oil painting is being shown alongside artworks by Glen Baxter, Willie Rodger and Peter Blake (perhaps still best-known today for his iconic cover design for Beatles' album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.)

Leeds United will resurrect a cult item of kit in honour of the first black professional footballer, who played in the North-East.

The Yorkshire club will wear commemorative socktags in their friendly with Darlington, for whom Arthur Wharton played in 1886.  After the game, the sock tags, which hang over the top of the socks, shall be auctioned and all money raised will go to the Arthur Wharton Foundation.

It will be the first time since 1974 that the club have sported sock-tags, which became fans’ favourites in the Don Revie era of the Seventies.

Only a Game? – a cultural, fun and educational UEFA exhibition that draws a parallel between the history of European football and that of the European Union – is heading to the United Kingdom. The exhibition will be based at the World Museum in Liverpool from this October until February 2009.

It features a set of giant table-football figures and an interactive sphere which uses teams competing in the Champions League as locations for a hi-tech geography lesson. Memorabilia on show includes shirts, medals and trophies of great European players such as former Reds captain Phil Neal, and items from the official Everton FC Collection and Liverpool FC’s museum.

Liverpool's passion
Bolstered by its success in Brussels, the Only a Game? exposition will soon be crossing the Channel to spend the winter on Merseyside. Liverpool was anything but a random choice: not only does the city in north-west England have an inherent passion for football, being the proud home to Everton FC and Liverpool FC, two clubs of mythical proportions; but Liverpool is also a 2008 European Capital of Culture.