To celebrate the 150th anniversaries of both The Football Association and the London Underground this year, the organisations have teamed up to create a limited edition tube map.
The map, plotted identically to the original, shows the 368 Tube, DLR and Overground stations across the 14 lines renamed as football’s greats.
Footballing greats past and present have been used with a number having special relevance to their particular station. In the map, Leytonstone is David Beckham to mark the place of his birth, Arsenal is changed to the club’s England midfielder Jack Wilshere and Upton Park becomes 1966 World Cup-winning captain and West Ham United great, Bobby Moore.
The lines themselves also hold significance, with the Docklands Light Railway using names of pre-war players such as Arsenal legend Eddie Hapgood and Everton’s Dixie Dean. The Victoria Line features stars of the women’s game like Kelly Smith and Faye White.
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The Metropolitan line - the oldest Tube line dating back to 1863 - has become the Managers line with Wembley Park named after the 1966 World Cup-winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey. Other famous names include Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Hodgson and Graham Taylor.
The Goalscorers line (Central line) recognises poachers, target men and cultured No 10s, with Lancaster Gate, Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street becoming Sir Bobby Charlton, Jimmy Greaves and Ian Rush respectively. The District line is now represented by central defenders while midfielders replace stations on the Piccadilly line.
The Circle line is made up of ‘Giants of the World Cup’ featuring the likes of Pele and Maradona. The Overground pays homage to overseas stars such as Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie and Ossie Ardiles.
The map, collated by the Football Association’s historian David Barber, took several hours to put together. Early drafts were shared with notable football writers and commentators, with the aim of creating a list that truly celebrates a century and a half of the nation’s favourite game. The FA is this month marking its 150th birthday, with the game’s oldest governing body formed on 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons’ Tavern, near Holborn tube.
Players who have been capped more than 100 times for England including Rachel Yankey, Peter Shilton and Steven Gerrard, are marked with special icons, as are England players with more than 40 goals, including FA150 ambassador Michael Owen and Gary Lineker. Owen said: “I think the football themed Tube map is a great way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of both the London Underground and the Football Association. I am absolutely delighted to be included at Oxford Circus.”
The map also singles out those who have won five or more FA Cups - such as Ashley Cole and pre-war players Jimmy Forrest and Charles Wollaston. It also includes symbols to show those who have been Knighted - Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Trevor Brooking, Sir Walter Winterbottom and Sir Alf Ramsey - or are a Peer of the Realm, like Arthur Kinnaird.
The map has been created to celebrate London Underground and The FA’s respective 150th anniversaries and will be available to buy from the Transport for London online shop, London Transport Museum Shop in Covent Garden and Wembley shop as well as online at www.tfl.gov.uk/shop.
Alex Horne, General Secretary of The Football Association, said: "Over the last 150 years, millions of football fans will have made journeys to and from matches using the London Underground.
"Creating this special version of such an iconic map is a fitting way for The FA and London Underground to mark its shared 150th anniversaries. With the map featuring so many greats from the history of the game, it is sure to generate huge debate among fans as well.
“This is the start of a very important month for us at The FA. We have a celebration of football’s volunteers at Buckingham Palace next Monday with HRH The Duke of Cambridge, we have two major England matches in World Cup qualification and, of course, we have the FA Gala Dinner on October 26 when guests from across the game will come together 150 years to the day of the very first meeting and in the exact location where it all began.”
Phil Hufton, Chief Operating Officer of London Underground, said: "Football and London Underground have always been closely linked - from the early days of the game, to jubilant fans travelling to and from Wembley on the Jubilee line and the hundreds of thousands that use the network to get to games every weekend today.
"Using the Tube map, a world famous design classic, fans will be able to celebrate the rich histories of both London Underground and the FA in their respective 150th years.”
To find out more about FA150 and the range of celebrations commemorating this and raising participation levels throughout England, visit www.TheFA.com
The map is available to buy at the London Transport Museum Shop in Covent Garden and Wembley shop as well as online at www.tfl.gov.uk/shop
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