Nafferton Youth Football Club in East Yorkshire received a strange and offbeat message on Facebook from someone in Holland after one of their footballs washed ashore on the island of Terschelling, the team announced.
The Euro soccer competition kicks off this weekend in Germany and stars like Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Phil Foden will compete for the prize for England’s Three Lions. The celebrations have already begun for some fans of the sport, as a local team's long lost ball was finally found. It had managed to make its way 400 miles to Holland in a quirky mystery that's captivated many.
Nafferton Youth Football Club in East Yorkshire learned of the development through a message on Facebook from someone in Holland. The ball had washed ashore on the island of Terschelling, the team announced.
It's "one of life's mysteries," Sean Gibson, 42, chairman and coach at the club, told the BBC.
Some have theorized that the soccer ball landed in a ditch and then washed down to the River Humber before eventually making it’s way out to sea and ending up in the Netherlands, the BBC reported.
Renske Schroor, 51, found the ball while walking on a beach one morning, “We live in a street with young children, so we thought they would have a fun ball to play with," Schroor told Hull Live. "But when we got home we cleaned the ball and saw that it had the name of a football club on it. I decided to look on Facebook to see if I could find anything."
Schroor found the name of the club written in marker on a part of the ball and contacted the team.
"That was quickly found and the Nafferton youth football club immediately responded very enthusiastically to my message,” she told Hull Live.
Nafferton Youth Football Club took to Facebook to share the news that the ball was found and showcased images of it that Schroor sent.
“It looks like shooting practice is in order at our next session,” the team wrote on Facebook.
It's not clear if the ball will return to England or stay in the Netherlands.