PRESTON'S National Football Museum opened its doors and scrapped its charges this week.

It comes after funding was secured from The Football Foundation and the North West Development Agency to provide revenue for the next three years.

Sir Bobby Charlton will officially launch the initiative in the coming weeks.

Museum chairman Brian Booth said: "All the major museums in this country allow visitors to their exhibitions for free and this funding puts The National Football Museum on a level playing field with those housing outstanding collections of national and international significance."