Two stuffed lions, a Lego set and some expensive football boots were among the items taken in the “heist” that hit England on the way to their World Cup base in Kansas City.
Having enjoyed a smooth, injury-free warm weather training camp in Florida, the Football Association had to deal with an unexpected headache in the Midwest on Friday night.
Equipment was discovered missing upon arriving at their Swope Soccer Village base, with Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas saying “local, state and federal” officials were working on the “heist in transit of English national team equipment”.
Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson has charged two men in connection with the incident, with Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal each facing a count of receiving stolen property carrying up to seven years in prison.
The pair drove England team equipment from their warm weather facility in West Palm Beach to Kansas City and a detective recovered an estimated 18,145.41 dollars (£13,530) worth of items.
Court documents show four pairs of £250 boots and five pairs of £170 shoes were allegedly found, along with some signed national team shirts, a £160 World Cup ball and a pair of £120 goalkeeper gloves.
Two stuffed lions and a Lego set of a Nike Air shoe were among the variety of other items.
The FA indicated to the Press Association earlier on Saturday that most of the training gear had been recovered ahead of the first session at Swope Soccer Village.
England back-up goalkeeper Dean Henderson said with a smile when asked if his boots and gloves made it to Kansas City: “Yeah, thankfully. I think they got stolen but we got them back so it’s all good.”
Experienced defender Dan Burn found out about the incident through the media reports, joking he “wouldn’t be able to move very much” if his boots had not turned up.
“We’ve not made a big deal out of it,” he said. “I’ve got everything I need, so I’m quite happy.
“We know that stuff has been left to the police and as a group we’ve not really spoken about that at all.”
Asked if the FA had spoken to the players, Burn added: “To be honest, it’s not really been spoken about, so I think that shows for us that they’re not too worried about it as well.
“We’re here to train. The first day out here, so it’s not disrupted our preparation.”
England kick-off their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday and Kansas City mayor Lucas said: “I am grateful for the quick work of the Kansas City Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office in resolving an investigation across several states, helping crime victims recover goods stolen in transit, and ensuring the accused will face prosecution.
“Kansas City’s public safety leadership will continue to ensure all are safe and offenders will be held accountable swiftly for any misconduct.”
Jackson County prosecutor Johnson added: “Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have travelled here to compete.
“We thank the Kansas City Police Department and our on-call attorneys for their quick work investigating this incident and filing charges immediately. Our office is committed to holding these individuals accountable.”
PA
