History of football programmes: Everton launched the first, the 1966 World Cup Final programme is th
IT could be the end of an institution...
Football programmes have always been the perfect accompaniment for fans as they head into a ground on matchday.
In fact, along with a pie and a pint, it's part of the ritual of attending a game in this country.
But they're now under threat with sales dwindling and supporters preferring to follow their teams' developments online.
The 72 Football League clubs are gearing up for a vote to decide whether it should be compulsory for teams to produce a matchday programme.
That has spurred SunSport into action, nostalgically piecing together where it all began.
It started with the Football League...
In 1888, with the formation of the Football League, matchday programmes became the norm for clubs, although the FA Cup Final produced the first in 1882.
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But they weren't the detailed bibles they are today. Far from it.
Meant to be used as scorecards, they consisted of a single sheet with the date on it, team names and player positions.
But who were the pioneers?
Everton were the first club to introduce regular match day programmes for their fans.
Another of the Football League's founders, Aston Villa had the 'Villa News and Record' too.
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That particular programme came in the form of a journal and each different one had a number and a volume for each season respectively.
The idea was to inspire fans to collect them, and it worked.
They soon became detailed...
Prior to the first World War, some clubs were producing matchday programmes that were eight pages long.
Their eye-catching designs often were indicative of what era they were produced in.
But then it all came crashing down.
Soon though they became few and far between...
Right before World War II, many clubs stopped producing matchday programmes.
Recycling for paper shortages as part of the war effort and times of post-war austerity meant some clubs struggled to get them made.
But programmes that were made during this time are recognised by collectors as the rarest to get your hands on.
Which brings us on to the most valuable...
The 1882 FA Cup Final was contested by Old Etonians and Blackburn Rovers, and it produced the most valued programme of all time.
At an auction in 2013, it fetched an astonishing £35,250 - a world record that's yet to be broken.
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A year earlier, a document detailing the game between Man United and Bristol City sold for £23,500.
And in 2014, a programme from Sheffield United against Tottenham in the 1901 FA Cup Final made £19,000.
But what's the rarest?
That'll be the programme for the 1966 World Cup Final.
Collectors are desperate to get their hands on the original, which is as elusive as the Holy Grail.
It's been reprinted more than any other programme over the years, with some scammers selling replicas online for as much as £10,000.
But there are a couple of ways of telling the real deal from the fakes.
The England v West Germany writing on the cover of the original has a definite blue tinge to it. According to experts, all the reprints have that writing in black.
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