Wear it well

THE FANS MUSEUM

The Fans Museum is based in the old Monkwearmouth station, a stone’s throw from the Stadium of Light. On this particular Tuesday afternoon, Sunderland’s 1973 FA Cup-winning captain, Bobby Kerr, is among those present – here for the announcement of the Bobby Kerr Dementia Centre, a support space that will be hosted for an initial three days a week at the museum.

Kerr is one of 900,000 people currently living with dementia across the UK, a number expected to rise to over one million by 2030. Professional footballers are more at risk, with research indicating they are 3.5 times more likely to develop neurodegenerative diseases than the general population due to repeated head impact across their careers.

Based around the personal collection of its founder, Michael Ganley, the museum provides a place for those who suffer with dementia and their families to create meaningful connections and stimulate memory, with reminiscence sessions and personal storytelling.

“Bobby gave his memory so we could have ours,” says Ganley, echoing a statement previously made by Judith Gates, wife of the late Bill Gates, a former Middlesbrough player who died in 2023 with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

For the last 13 years, the Museum’s Memory Box Project has taken memorabilia into care homes, hospitals and hospices to stir emotion and create conversations. The aspiration is to create over 1,000 memory boxes full of items to go into care homes and hospitals across the region, with the hope to expand to cover the country.

There is also a focus on giving people life skills through their community work; those who cannot hold down a stable job or find mainstream education are made welcome. There is a wider missionthan just showcasing memorabilia at the museum, as Ganley explains: “If we can give somebody inspiration, if we can give someone more belief, if we can give somebody that purpose back in their lives by sharing this collection and empowering them with the collection. That’s what it should be about as a football fan.”

The collection includes former manager Paolo Di Canio’s suit from the 2013 win over Newcastle, with the mud from the St James’ Park turf and his famous knee slide still visible. It hangs close to six of the pre-match jackets from Sunderland’s FA Cup-winning day at Wembley. The beach ball from Darren Bent’s ludicrous goal against Liverpool in 2009, along with his boots from the same game, is also on show.

A walk around the rooms of the building takes you through decades of football history from Wearside and beyond. A Brian Brobbey shirt hangs proudly over a framed Zico top. As I leave, a Dan Ballard matchworn shirt is being worn by a woman jumping in a corridor, pretending to head home a last-minute header.

Ganley has been collecting football memorabilia since he was a child. In total, he possesses around a quarter of a million items, including 4,500 matchworn shirts. He is on a mission to collect one from every club in the world.

From receiving Ian Porterfield’s FA Cup jacket from a Russian seller who had found it hanging in a charity shop in Ukraine a week before it would have been thrown out to owning a pair of Martin O’Neill’s underpants, the Fans Museum is a place where you can never be quite sure what piece of unique memorabilia you will next come upon. Ganley believes that everything in his collection has a use beyond just being something to be stared at. These are items that bring people together – whether Sunderland fans or not – and spark conversations, memories and reflections.

In a time of uncertainty and division, spending time within the walls of the Fans Museum, with people whose only goal is to brighten up your day, is a brilliant way to spend an afternoon. Ciaran Myers Anyone wanting to sign up for the Bobby Kerr Dementia Centre or with any other enquiries can contact Michael Ganley at michael@fansmuseum.org