The ball that Diego Maradona used to score his infamous “Hand of God” World Cup goal for Argentina against England in 1986 has been lined up for auction.
The sale will happen on November 16, with interested buyers allowed to register online from October 28.
According to London-based Graham Budd Auctions, they anticipate seeing the ball at between Ksh341.9million to Ksh410.8 million (£2.5-£3 million).
The ball will be sold by Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian referee who famously allowed the controversial goal.
“The timing of the match, the history between the two teams, stretching back to 1951 (the first quarter-final between the two teams in 1966 was also controversial for the sending off of the Argentinian captain Antonio Rattan), and the famous handball have all led to this match going down as one of the most famous and emotive matches in football history.
“With the history surrounding the ball, we are expecting this lot to be hugely popular when it comes up for auction,” stated Graham Budd, chairman of Graham Budd Auctions.
Ali Bin Nasser noted that he was honoured to be among the few African referees who were chosen by FIFA to officiate the 1986 World Cup, noting that it was the right time to share the ball with the world.
Nasser, who is the current owner of the ball, hoped the new owner would be in a position to put it on display or share it with the public.
Other items that will be auctioned at the World Cup auction include the shirt worn by Bin Nasser during the quarter-final and a shirt signed by Maradona to his ‘eternal friend’ at a reunion years later.
Graham Budd also noted that 2022 has been an amazing year in the sports memorabilia market as on three occasions, records were broken with the sale of the shirt Maradona wore during the same quarter-final match, a Mickey Mantle baseball card and Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA finals jersey.