Fifa to restore grave of penalty inventor
Fifa President Sepp Blatter attends the 129th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at the Culloden Hotel in Belfast on February 28, 2015. PHOTO | PAUL FAITH |
What you need to know:
- The decision to restore the grave was announced during the IFAB's annual general meeting in Belfast.
- Fifa's decision to pay for the works comes after a request for help from the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs.
BELFAST
World governing body Fifa is to fund the restoration of the grave of William McCrum, the man who invented the penalty kick, the International FA Board (IFAB) announced on Saturday.
McCrum, from Armagh in Northern Ireland, persuaded the Irish Football Association to put his proposal before rule-making body the IFAB and it was adopted in 1890.
The decision to restore the grave was announced during the IFAB's annual general meeting in Belfast.
"The IFAB acknowledged the contribution of the late William McCrum, who, as a member of the Irish FA, proposed the idea of the penalty kick in 1890," the IFAB said in a statement.
"FIFA has agreed to fund the restoration of William McCrum's grave, which has fallen into disrepair."
Fifa's decision to pay for the works comes after a request for help from the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs.
McCrum came from a family of wealthy linen mill owners, but died penniless shortly before Christmas in 1932. He is buried in the grounds of St Mark's Parish Church in Armagh.
