Diego Maradona’s iconic jersey, in which he scored his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in 1986, will be on display during the World Cup in Qatar.
The shirt, which sold for $9.3 million at auction five months ago to a secret buyer, has been loaned to Qatar’s 3-2-1 Sports Museum and will be on display from Sunday until April 1.
Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, director of the museum and a member of the Gulf state’s ruling family, said she was “excited” to have secured the jersey for the World Cup exhibition. “The kit has had quite a journey,” she said in a statement to French news agency AFP.
Maradona had scored both goals in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals win over England at Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium. The game is among one of the most talked about in football history and promoted the legend status of Maradona, who died of a heart attack in November 2020 at the age of 60.
Maradona shirt alongside iconic ball and Pélé bust
The Argentine scored the first goal against England goalkeeper Peter Shilton with a hand and later said it was “a little bit with Maradona’s head, a little bit with the hand of God”. On the second he managed a stunning solo past five English defenders and Shilton. A goal voted “Goal of the Century” in a FIFA poll in 2002.
The Maradona shirt is on display at the World of Football exhibition along with a ball used in the first World Cup finals in 1930. Exhibits also include the first written account of the rules of football and one of two bronze busts of Pélé’s right foot.