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"I bought the football shirt as an investment," sounds like an ill-thought-out excuse for a rash purchase. It may seem odd to see the words ‘football’ and ‘investment’ sitting together in the same sentence but sports memorabilia has become big business in recent years.

For instance, in 2002, the shirt worn by Pele in the 1970 World Cup Final sold for £157,750 while Geoff Hurst’s shirt from the famous 1966 World Cup Final fetched £91,750. And last year, a pair of football boots worn by David Beckham sold for £14,000 at auction.

Memorabilia from other sports can also fetch huge sums. Vintage golf clubs - in particular long-nosed or ‘scared head’ clubs - fetch thousands, with one 17th century club fetching £106,000 at auction. Victorian tennis rackets can change hands for as much as £2,500 and sporting memorabilia autioneers Mullock Madeley recently sold a limited edition 1930’s fishing reel for £10,000.

Sports memorabilia seller Spirit of Sport claims that buying memorabilia can be safe and worthwhile investments. While between 1997 and 2002 the FTSE 100 fell by 4% (according to an independent study called the SG100), the value of autographs actually rose by 139%.

So, it is possible to get a decent return on investment from sports memorabilia - but what are the key things to consider when looking for that perfect sporting purchase?

1. Know your sport. The items that will be worth the money will have been worn or used in key matches or tournaments. Obviously the more iconic the owner (think Pele or George Best), or the more famous the match (the 1970 World Cup Final, for instance) the higher the potential value.
2. Don’t let your club loyalties get in the way! You may prefer Everton to Manchester United but understand that your club will never as attract as much interest at auction. Even at Liverpool auction houses Manchester United memorabilia fetches twice as much as memorabilia from Liverpool FC or Everton.
3. Understand the laws of supply and demand. Vintage football memorabilia is an ideal area to focus on because, not only is there huge interest in the sport, but also the market will never be swamped by items that could cause prices to slump. Modern professional footballers are so well paid that they’ll hardly ever need to sell any of their possessions off to shore up their personal finances.
4. Keep everything together. If you’ve been to a cup final and have the programme and the ticket stub, keep them together. This will ensure the items fetch a higher price should you come to sell them in later years.
5. Ensure the authenticity of the item that you buy. Take care when buying sports memorabilia that claims to have been used in a famous game or worn by a certain player. If buying something autographed by a famous sportsman, ensure that the autograph is not ghost-signed (signed by someone other than the athlete) or auto-penned (created by a machine that reproduces the autograph of the athlete for mass signings).

As you can see, buying sports memorabilia can actually prove to be as much of an investment as a hobby. Just remember, though, your sporting investment needs to be protected as much as any other. If you have a shirt or boots potentially worth thousands, don’t forget to get it insured. After all, you don’t want burglars reaping the rewards of your careful and probably much-loved purchases.