Bobby Moore’s ex-wife urges return of lost shirt from 1966 World Cup final

It is the most famous moment in English football. Bobby Moore, the England captain, hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates, holding the World Cup trophy aloft in 1966.

While the moment was captured on camera and preserved for posterity, the red England shirt the centre-half was wearing, with the number six on the back, has been lost – and Moore’s ex-wife is urging its current owner to return it.

Tina Moore, the West Ham defender’s first wife, has called on the private buyer who has the shirt to return the part of footballing history. She told the Daily Mail that the last time she saw the shirt was in her attic at their home in Chigwell, Essex.

“I would really love to get that shirt back where it belongs – with me, with my family, and with the nation, for everyone to have a chance to look at it and marvel at Bobby’s achievement,” she said.

Tina, who was married to Bobby for 24 years, said the shirt was kept in a bag at their home. When Bobby was dying of cancer in 1992, their daughter Roberta brought his trophies, medals and caps for him to hold.

However, the collection did not include his England shirt, and Tina, now 79, who got his football memorabilia in their divorce in 1986, then spent years looking for it. She is bemused at how the shirt vanished from their possession.

The mystery was partially solved in 2021 when the Football Association phoned Roberta, now 58, and said: “Your father’s shirt has been found.” They said that it was in the hands of a private buyer, whose identity remains a secret. It is unclear how many times it may have changed hands since they last saw it in the 1980s.

“It was a huge shock and at first totally baffling,” Roberta told the Mail. “The shirt belongs to my mother and she had been