THE whereabouts of a missing piece of footballing history has been solved following an appeal to trace the distinctive silverware.

But now the mystery has been resolved after the lid was returned after it was discovered in the loft of a house in Teesside – although the finder wants to remain anonymous.

Despite the lid being in poor condition it has now been fully repaired and will be shortly reunited with the main body of the cup, which is still presented by the North Riding County Football Association (NRCFA).

The Saturday County Cup has been competed for since the 1881/82 season making it the country’s oldest in continuous use but its cover disappeared some time between the 1960s and 1980s.

And the historic cup was won in 1887 by Darlington FC who boasted the world’s first professional black player in its ranks – Arthur Wharton.

NRCFA chief executive Tom Radigan said: “It is a great end to a great story. We had no idea of the importance to world football the Saturday County Cup had. Quite rightly it is now in the museum for all football fans to see and to be able to reunite it with its lid, so the old trophy it takes on its full identity, is wonderful.”

The trophy lost most of its significance after its professional links were forgotten and local grassroots players started to campaign for it on the parks each year to claim the right to lift it.

It was during this time that the main body of the cup became detached from the lid and only a chance sighting of the lidless trophy on a shelf in North Yorkshire by a football researcher brought the past history to the fore.

To reflect the cup’s importance, it was recently placed under lock and key in the National Football Museum in Manchester.

The cup was first competed for in the 1881/2 season in a professional club tournament and was known as the Cleveland Cup. The trophy then became the North Riding County FA (NRCFA) Senior Cup in 1890/91 season so becoming an amateur competition, and was competed for by amateur teams.

In 1975, NRCFA introduced a second tier of amateur competition (the Challenge Cup), so the trophy was re-named the NRCFA Saturday County Cup and the current holders are Boro Rangers.

The cup will still be presented to the winner of the County Cup each year.