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The FIFA Museum, open daily throughout the World Cup at the iconic Rockefeller Center in New York, offers visitors a free journey through the history of the world’s most beloved sport.

With dynamic ticket pricing, hydration breaks, and what many see as corporate excess, there are plenty of reasons to criticise FIFA and believe it has diluted the magic of the World Cup.

However, one thing football’s governing body has certainly got right is the FIFA Museum. Packed with memorabilia and football heritage that dates all the way back to the inaugural World Cup in 1930, it is a treat for fans and historians alike.

This year’s World Cup features the ‘Legacies of Champions,’ a free interactive exhibition hosted in the heart of midtown Manhattan at the Rockefeller Center.

I queued outside the famous New York landmark to enter the exhibition. Considering the steep prices of practically everything else during this World Cup and in the United States in general, this free experience felt like a rare and welcome exception.

Inside, visitors can explore a section dedicated to each of the 22 previous World Cups, each displaying a unique artefact from that era — shirts, caps, posters, balls, and even a piece of turf from the 2018 final. For football enthusiasts visiting New York during the tournament, it’s a must-see attraction.

The first World Cup I vividly remember watching as a six-year-old was Italia ’90, when Bobby Robson’s England reached the semi-final before losing to West Germany in a heartbreaking penalty shootout.

One of the most unforgettable images from that semi-final remains Paul Gascoigne’s tearful reaction after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament, a booking that would have ruled him out of the final had England progressed.

Gazza cried, I cried, the entire nation cried. While walking through the Museum on the ninth floor of the Rockefeller Center, all those memories from that summer came flooding back when I arrived at the 1990 section and saw the actual yellow card shown by Brazilian referee Jose Ramiz Wright to Gascoigne.

The card itself is simple — a small yellow rectangle, roughly 4 inches by 3 inches, with the handwritten words ‘19 Gascoigne’ scrawled on it. It’s something I never imagined I would see in my lifetime, nor did I feel I needed to. Yet, standing before it transported me back 36 years, to the emotions of that unforgettable tournament.

As remarkable as it was to see Ivor Allchurch’s Wales shirt from the 1958 World Cup, the tracksuit top Pele wore during warm-ups at the 1962 tournament, Zinedine Zidane’s accreditation pass from France ’98, or Lionel Messi’s match-worn shirt from the final in Doha just four years ago, it was that small yellow card that truly stirred my World Cup memories.

Every fan has their own cherished moment from past tournaments, and this impressive exhibition has something that will rekindle memories for supporters both young and old.

Midway through the exhibition stands a replica of the Jules Rimet Trophy with its original base. After exploring exhibits from all 22 past tournaments, visitors can view the current FIFA World Cup Trophy and even take a photo with it — albeit from a safe distance. Made of 18-karat gold, weighing 5 kilograms, and valued at around $713,000, the trophy is understandably housed in a secure display case, but its brilliance remains fully visible.

The FIFA Museum presented by Hyundai, titled ‘Legacies of Champions,’ is open to the public free of charge at the Rockefeller Center until 19 July 2026.