Lionesses' programme collectors showcase their favourites

As England prepare to play their 500th game when they face Iceland in Reykjavik on Saturday, we meet Rod and Josie Prescott, who have an unrivalled collection of England women’s matchday programmes.

Despite an ever-increasing digital world, the printed matchday programme remains as big a part of the matchgoing experience for England as ever.

We love producing them, and thankfully some people still love buying and collecting them, some more than others!

Rod and Josie’s collection really is something else. The couple store their programmes – which date back to England’s early matches – in plastic covers and they’re filed in order.

They contain match reports, match tickets, hospitality tickets and any other memorabilia from the game.

“In the early years, many of the England players were family friends to us and were always approachable at a time when the England Women’s games would only attract crowds of just a few thousand spectators,” explains Rod.

“The camaraderie of those early England teams was very special and collecting their home and away match day programmes became a unique, but much enjoyed hobby.

“Little did we know back then how sought after these early editions would become, to today’s huge audience of women’s football memorabilia collectors!

“We have always been dependent on the England players obtaining home and away programmes to games that we could not attend. So many England players became family friends over time and we still remain in touch. Some away issues were obtained by writing to the relevant opposition Football Federations.”

Here, they take us through their favourites…

Match 12

“The very first England Women’s match that I attended was played here in the north-west at Borough Park, home of Blackpool Rugby League, on Sunday 2 May 1976. England faced the Netherlands in a friendly fixture, winning 2-1, with goals from Elaine Baddrock and a Sandra Choat penalty. This was the very first time that I saw team captain Sheila Parker play, an experience that I would never forget! This very talented lady, who just a few years later would introduce us to local women’s football in Chorley, became a life-long friend and godparent to our children in 1989.”

Match 22

“Our second featured programme comes from England’s third fixture to be played at Plough Lane, Wimbledon FC, in November 1977. Italy were regarded as one of the leading nations in the world of women’s football, but in a tremendous team display, Parker scored the only goal of the game on eight minutes to give England a huge victory, and thus creating lots of welcome media attention to our sport!”

Match 41

“One Sunday in September 1982 saw a very historic occasion when England played their very first home UEFA competition match at Gresty Road, home of Crewe Alexandra. England would run out 7-1 winners over Northern Ireland in an emphatic victory and we were proud to be in attendance on that special afternoon.”

Match 86

“England’s match against Finland in a EURO Qualifier saw the first-ever large all-colour glossy programme to be issued by the Women’s Football Association. The game was played in October 1989 and finished 0-0 in front of 2,083 spectators. Our programme was very kindly autographed for us by all the participating England players.”

Match 89

“England met Belgium in a EURO Qualifier at Bramall Lane in April 1990, winning 1-0 with a 68th-minute winner from Gillian Coultard. We chose this programme as again it was uniquely autographed to our family by both the England and Belgium squads.”