Football's FIRST rule book to sell for upwards of £1.2million (€1.5million):

Football memorabilia doesn't get more original

"To see the first rule book come from such a small club, rules that are now observed by hundreds of millions of people. It's quite surreal."

The world's oldest football club; Sheffielf FC are to sell their first ever rule book at Sotheby's in July.  

A handwritten pamphlet explaining the rules of association football, dating back to 1858, is expected to fetch around £1.2 million ($2m) at auction when Sheffield Football Club put the document up for sale.

Sheffield FC in their first season: 1857-'58

Now Sheffield F.C. need to sell to survive

Sheffield FC are the world's first club, formed in 1857 and still survive today playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South. The club were formed when in 1855 the Sheffield Cricket team began kicking a ball around while waiting for their turn to bat. There were no rules but two cricketers, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, decided to form a team - and thus Sheffield F.C. was formed. Creswick and Prest then got together and drew up a list of rules. These rules, written on by hand on a piece of paper became known as the Sheffield Rules. When the rules were scribbled down they included no hacking or tripping. The laws of the game, most of which still exist today, including use of the crossbar and taking corners. The archive will go up for auction at Sotheby's in July but first it will tour three major world cities - Paris, New York and Doha - before the historical document returns to London, reports BBC Sheffield. Sheffield FC chairman, Richard Tims said, "“If you are looking for a piece of footballing history, this is the ultimate prize”. In a Financial Times report, Mr Tims explained that selling the document was a "tough" choice but one they had to do if the club is to survive financially.