According to L'Equipe, the match ball used by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup "Hand of God" will be auctioned in the United States, with a starting price of $2.5 million and an estimated value of $10 million.
Maradona's jersey from that match previously sold for $9.2 million in 2022. Heritage Auctions, a prominent US auction house headquartered in Dallas, Texas, will hold its next sports memorabilia auction from August 21st to 23rd, with this ball used in Argentina's 1986 World Cup match against England as the highlight. The ball is valued at $10 million, with a starting bid of $2.5 million, and online bidding has already begun. On Friday, the first round of bids reached $2.65 million. The final buyer will need to pay Heritage Auctions a 20% commission.
Currently, the ball is on display at its Beverly Hills branch. American sports memorabilia auctions highly value clear and undisputed provenance, and this ball clearly meets this requirement. On June 22, 1986, during the World Cup quarter-final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, after Argentina defeated England 2-1, Tunisian referee Ali Bennacer retrieved the match ball. In a 2023 letter accompanying the ball, Bennacer explained that FIFA rules clearly stipulate that the match ball belongs to the referee; this ball was the only one used throughout the entire match, with no spares used, and he had kept it for over 30 years. After the match, he immediately retrieved the ball and had his three assistants—Bulgarian Bogdan Dochev, Costa Rican Benri Ulloa Moreira, and Malian Idriza Traore—sign it. Today, these signatures are still clearly visible, although the ball is slightly deflated.
Bennacer previously sold this ball at the Graham Budd Auctions in London in November 2022 for £2 million (approximately €2.3 million). Now, the current owner has put it back up for auction. To enhance its authenticity, Heritage Auctions commissioned Sports Investors Authentification, a company specializing in authenticating sports memorabilia, to verify it, comparing it from every angle and cross-checking it with match photos. Besides the numerous markings on the ball—"Official Ball of the 1986 World Cup," "Official Ball of the 1986 World Cup," "Mexico Aztec," "Adidas," "Hand-stitched, 1-year warranty"—many marks on the ball also perfectly match those from the Argentina vs. England match. Given the historical significance of the "Hand of God," Heritage Auctions expects the ball to fetch over $10 million. In May 2022, a Maradona jersey from the Argentina vs. England match sold for $9.2 million at Sotheby's.
