Property up for sale with turf where England scored in 1966 World Cup

It’s coming to YOUR home! Fans can snap up £1.25m property featuring turf where Geoff Hurst scored controversial England goal in 1966 World Cup

• The goal line has been ‘secretly’ kept in a back garden for more than 50 years
• It hosted Hurst’s controversial goal before England’s only ever World Cup win 
• The turf was dug up and laid at a home in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire in a V-shape 
• A family has played football on the strip of grass for years since living there 

Football fans now have the option to snap up a £1.25 million house that has the famous goal line from the 1966 World Cup final in its back garden.

The Hertfordshire home has ‘secretly’ hosted the hallowed turf at the heart of Geoff Hurst‘s controversial goal for more than 50 years.

It has been the subject of decades of debate since Hurst’s shot famously hit the crossbar then came crashing down.

German players furiously protested that it didn’t cross the line, yet the controversial goal was awarded and proved crucial in the 4-2 win and England’s only ever World Cup victory.

But the famous strip of grass could soon be owned by an avid supporter, with the detached five-bedroom home in Potters Bar now on the market.

The Hertfordshire home is expected to fetch £1.25 million thanks to its World Cup legacy

Its current owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said the children in their family have even used the turf as their own goal line while playing football in the garden.

He said: ‘We were told about it when we bought the house and we thought it was pretty special.

‘It was a secret that we had to keep and we’ve kept it a secret for years.

‘We have played games on it over the years. We didn’t consider it too much apart from the fact that we’ve got this legacy in the garden.

‘But, as the years have gone by it has become more significant because obviously England haven’t won the World Cup since.’

Fans have the chance to own the hallowed turf at the heart of Geoff Hurst’s controversial goal

The famous goal line has been ‘secretly’ kept in a back garden for more than 50 years 

With the Qatar World Cup now underway, the property has been listed on the market and is expected to fetch at least £1.25 million.

The grass came to be at the Potters Bar house after its then-owner, TV director Bob Gardam, took part in a kickabout at Wembley with other colleagues in 1969.

The director of London Weekend Television’s Big Match show was told by groundsman, George Stanton, that the pitch was due to be re-turfed for the first time since England’s historic win three years earlier.

The grass was in a terrible state due to that year’s Horse of the Year Show and Mr Stanton told Mr Gardam that he could take home Hurst’s goal line.

Remarkably, Mr Gardam drove his car through the Wembley tunnel and onto the pitch to load his car with the turf, then laid it in his Potters Bar garden in the shape of a ‘V’ for victory.

The turf was dug up and laid at a home in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire in a v-shape for victory

The family who live there have used the turf as their own goal line while playing football

The TV director remained at the house with first wife Joan and their children Ros and Kevin until 1982, when the house was sold.

Mr Gardam, a father-of-six, passed away aged 81 in 2013, but his grandson Steve Walter, 32, today spoke about his grandfather’s exploits.

Mr Walter, a media consultant from Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘Grandad was not actually a massive football fan, he loved sport and more than anything I think he did it for a bit of a giggle.

‘It was not necessarily that he thought “oh my god, I’ve got to own it”, he just wanted to have a bit of a laugh and so that only he knew where this was.

‘He certainly recognised the significance of it, he was working the final in 1966.

‘He absolutely knew the significance of it and wanted to preserve it for generations, he didn’t want to see it go to a landfill.’

Mr Walter added that his grandfather was a ‘joker’ and shaping the turf into a V-shape ‘certainly demonstrates that’.

The current owner has not been tempted to take the turf with him when the family move 

The house was sold in 1982 to a father with a young family. 

The father passed away two years ago and now his 46-year-old son is the current owner of the house.

Its owner added that he hasn’t been tempted to take the turf with him when moving.

He continued: ‘I think it should remain here because that’s where it’s ended up from Wembley.

‘I don’t see it being dug up, it’s hard to think of that happening.

‘I think there’s a chance it interests a football fan and then they end up being the buyer – there’s a chance.’

In 2008, the turf was put up for auction but it never sold. 

One part of the turf was donated to the National Football Museum in Preston, Lancashire. 

The property is being sold by estate agent Strike at a guide price of £1.25 million to £1.5 million.

Strike CEO, Sam Mitchell, said: ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for football fans to get their hands on an iconic piece of English football history. It’s absolutely unique.’

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