Camille Naredo

Article (news)

Hand of God

Reuters Wires

<div><br/></div><p>The match ball from Argentina&#x27;s 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England — made famous by Diego Maradona&#x27;s &quot;Hand of God&quot; goal — is set to go up for auction with a $2.5-million opening bid, Heritage Auctions said.</p><p>The item, which the auctioneers describe as the &quot;holy grail&quot; for collectors, could fetch a price comparable to the $9.2 million paid in 2022 for Maradona&#x27;s match-worn shirt from the same game, according to the auction house.</p><p>Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said there were no direct comparables for what the ball might fetch in the auction.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;The Hand of God&#x27; is a moment that even if you know nothing about soccer, you&#x27;ve heard of it, you know the story. So it kind of even just transcends the sport and it&#x27;s gone into folklore,&quot; Provenzale told Reuters from the Javits Center convention site Friday (July 17). </p><p>In his interview, Provenzale recounted the story of the ball after the match. First, it was kept by the head referee who had his colleagues sign the ball. That private seller is now selling through Heritage. </p><p>In the interim, a photo matching company has been able to confirm the ball is indeed the one from the &#x27;86 match, Provenzale said.  </p><p>The timing of the auction comes amid a growing boom in soccer collectables, further fuelled by the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/7/16/messi-magic-sends-argentina-into-world-cup-final-0654">READ: Messi magic sends Argentina into World Cup final</a></div><p>Of course the ball can only benefit from Argentina&#x27;s continued run in the World Cup that will culminate in the final match against Spain on Sunday (July 19). </p><p>&quot;Everything&#x27;s going great for the ball,&quot; Provenzale said. &quot;It kind of parallels the run back then. There&#x27;s even been some talk about Argentina getting favorable treatment from the referees, which I don&#x27;t know if it was favorable treatment for the &#x27;Hand of God&#x27; or just a missed call. But a lot of it, that goal and that World Cup run for Argentina, has aligned with their run this year.&quot;</p><p>The ball will go to auction at Heritage from the end of this month until the weekend of August 21-23.</p><div><strong>(Production by: Leonardo Benassatto, Ursa Pressern, Kurt Michael Hall, Dan Fastenberg) </strong></div>

<p>The match ball from Argentina's 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England — made famous by Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal — is set to go up for auction with a $2.5-million opening bid, Heritage Auctions said.</p>

The match ball from Argentina's 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England — made famous by Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal — is set to go up for auction with a $2.5-million opening bid, Heritage Auctions said.

As Argentina returns to World Cup finals, 'Hand of God' ball to go to auction

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As Argentina returns to World Cup finals, 'Hand of God' ball to go to auction

Reuters

Published July 18, 2026 10:19 AM PHT

Read More:

football

FIFA World Cup

England

Argentina

Diego Maradona

Hand of God

auction

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