THREE pieces of FA Cup memorabilia, including the first victories for Blackburn and Burnley sides in the oldest competition in football, are set to go under the hammer in London this month.

An early FA Cup winner’s medal owned by Blackburn Olympic’s Bill Astley, from the side’s 1883 victory over the Old Etonians at Kennington Oval, is expected to fetch at least £10,000 to £15,000.

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And rare examples of pre-First World War match programmes, recording Burnley’s march to the final in 1914, will also be auctioned off by Graham Budd at Sotheby’s next Thursday..

Blackburn Olympic’s triumph is often described as a watershed moment in the early years of association football, breaking the monopoly of the gentry over the fledgling game.

A Graham Budd spokesman said: “For the first time the cup’s dominance by the southern amateur public school sides was broken by a northern working class team.

“It was also the dawn of a new style of football, Blackburn playing the passing ‘combination’ game as opposed to the public schools’ traditional tactics of ‘rushing’ and scrimmages.”

Goals from Arthur Matthews and Jimmy Costley, the latter in extra time, cancelled out an opener by the Etonians’ England international Harry Goodhart, Crowds and at least three brass band heralded the return of the side to Blackburn later.

The lot for Bill Astley, later said to have been a weaver and newsagent, includes a copy of his newspaper obituary.

Bids of at least £5,000 to £5,500 are expected for four programmes charting the Clarets one and only FA Cup triumph, covering the home ties versus South Shields, Bolton Wanderers, Derby County and Sunderland included.

“Burnley programmes from the pre-First World War ear are extremely scarce with only a handful ever having surfaced and it is believed that this is only the second season that the club produced programmes,” said the spokesman.

Other lots at the auction include a set of photos of King George V attending the FA Cup Final, the first monarch ever to do so, eventually witnessing Burnley’s 1-0 win over Liverpool, and Rovers programmes from the Second World War era.