LONDON June 25 (Reuters) - The match ball from Argentina’s 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England — made famous by Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal — is set to go up for auction with a $2.5-million opening bid, Heritage Auctions said.
The item, which the auctioneers describe as the “holy grail” for collectors, could fetch a price comparable to the $9.2 million paid in 2022 for Maradona’s match-worn shirt from the same game, according to the auction house.
Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said there were no direct comparables for what the ball might fetch in the auction.
“It’s a true one-of-one item,” Provenzale told Reuters. “Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists.”
The timing of the auction comes amid a growing boom in soccer collectables, further fuelled by the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“The U.S. drives the sports collectables market. It essentially started here and has a huge collectors' base, with the number of collectors growing exponentially,” Provenzale said.
While the sports collectables market has traditionally been dominated by four U.S. sports - basketball,baseball, American football and ice hockey – Provenzale said soccer collecting had grown over the past six to seven years, alongside other once-niche sports such as Formula One and wrestling.
A key shift has been the rapid rise in modern collectables, particularly trading cards, where Provenzale said “incredibly high values” were now being achieved for those featuring global stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.
Provenzale said major tournaments such as the World Cup served as a catalyst, with player performances causing valuations to rise in real time.
“We have some Messi cards open for auction right now - the night he got the hat-trick they jumped up in value,” he said.
For investors and collectors alike, the focus is increasingly on identifying the next breakout star.
“The market will wait and see on what happens in the Round of 32 and who progresses beyond that. The market has spoken on Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappe.
“It will be the guys making names for themselves in the next few weeks,” he said.
(Editing by Clare Fallon)
