FA launches desperate appeal over Bobby Moore’s missing World Cup shirt

The Football Association has called for the shirt of Bobby Moore’s World Cup winners to be recovered and “displayed for the nation”.

Moore’s red number six shirt, which he wore as he led England to victory over West Germany in 1966, was reported missing by his first wife Tina in a story published by the Daily Mail.

“If anyone has the shirt, I urge them to come to us and explain how they got it,” Ms Moore said.

“I would really like to have that jersey back where it belongs – with me, with my family and with the nation, so that everyone has a chance to look at it and marvel at Bobby’s achievements.

“I would ask them to just come to us and explain how they got it. I am sure this was done in very good faith.

“I especially want back what Bobby gave and entrusted to me. I owe it to him and my family to get it back.”

Moore, who played for West Ham and Fulham and was crowned 108 times by England, died of bowel cancer in 1993.

The FA said: “Bobby Moore is an England hero. It would be great if there was a way to find and display his historic World Cup jersey for the country.”

The mystery of the missing shirt was partially solved in 2021 when the FA called Moore’s daughter Roberta, 58, and said: “Your father’s shirt has been found.”

They said it is in the hands of a private buyer whose identity remains a mystery. It is unclear how many times it has changed hands since they last saw it in the 1980s.

“It was a huge shock and totally confusing at first,” Roberta told the Mail.

“The shirt belongs to my mother and she has been looking for it for years. Now, out of the blue, they told us about a private buyer and was he “found”?

“It was all very strange. The information was vague. The shirt was ‘found at a general auction by an unknown deceased.’ It was difficult to understand.

“How does the shirt go from a bag in my mother’s attic to an auction by a deceased?”