What do you do with your old football boots? You may keep them in a closet or pass them onto a younger sibling. Regardless of what you may do with your old football boots, most players tend to toss them in the bin, resulting in the footwear going into the landfill.
One organisation, Football Rebooted, wants to end the waste created by football boots. The group aims “to rehome at least one million pairs of quality football boots across the UK, to stop them ending up in landfill. That’s the same as taking 7,000 cars off the road for a year, in carbon reductions.”
The Football Rebooted program was created by energy supplier Utilita. The group is encouraging anyone that has spare football boots or AstroTurf boots can request a freepost ‘boot bag’ allowing them to donate their old boots. Once received, the boots will appear at one of the organisation’s claim stations which will show up in parks, at training grounds, and at some of the UK’s largest football clubs.
Individuals will be able to claim a variety of boots from premium pairs down to lower-priced models. Players may be able to pick up some great retro boots at the Football rebooted pop-ups. Some of the donated boots will come from Premier League clubs making it possible for players to land some professionally worn footwear.
Research conducted by the energy company, Utilita’s State of Play report, discovered that out of the 74% of families impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, 18% won’t be able to send their children back to grassroots football. The price of grassroots football and items such as football boots, goalie gloves, and shin pads will prevent parents from signing their kids up to play.
You can pick up a pair of football boots for free courtesy of the program. Football Rebooted’s claim stations will have premium brand boots, retro boots, and boots signed by club professional players. By following @UtilitaFootball, you can get the latest claim station updates.
For more information, please visit Football Rebooted’s website.