Club Ambassador Marcus Gayle has officially kicked off Brentford FC’s efforts to collect and reallocate good quality football boots, as part of Utilita Energy’s Football Rebooted campaign.
Already being dubbed as ‘football’s biggest ever environmental movement’, Brentford FC is one of the first Premier League club partners to join the Football Rebooted campaign, which was launched by David James MBE and Utilita Energy in a bid to save families the expense of new boots, and to keep one million pairs of football boots out of landfill.
How can you get involved?
Brentford FC’s dedicated boots collection point is situated at the Bees Superstore on Lionel Road South, for football boots suitable for all surfaces, which will help the club’s ongoing sustainability efforts. Anyone with a spare pair of football boots (or astro turf boots) who wants to get involved should simply give them a clean and drop them off at the Bees Superstore before the match.
To put the environmental benefits into context, every pair of football boots manufactured creates a carbon footprint of 30lbs - this is the same amount of carbon that is generated by a medium-sized house’s energy usage, each week.
Marcus Gayle, former striker and Brentford FC Club Ambassador, commented on the why he’s getting behind the campaign: “There will be plenty of brand-new football boots which have been received as Christmas presents across London right now, so this is a call for all of those boots they have replaced. We know our fans will get behind the campaign - there’ll be lots of families looking for a new home for their pre-played boots, and plenty of families who would love to receive them. Your donations will not only help those young footballers in the area, but you will also be doing your bit for the environment too.”
As well as football clubs, hundreds of primary and secondary schools and colleges across the UK are already collecting boots and keeping them in the local eco-system to ensure they’re re-used. After an impressive kick-off back in May 2021, the successful ‘Football Rebooted’ campaign has already collected and reallocated thousands of pairs of quality football boots, saving hard-pressed families a small fortune and helping to reduce carbon emissions.
Archie Lasseter, Utilita Energy’s Sustainability Lead, commented on the environmental impact of rehoming boots: “By giving people the information and infrastructure to do the right thing, this campaign is adding multiple layers of value to people and the planet. We intent to get as many collection points as possible into clubs and schools across the UK in order to hit the million pairs target. Brentford FC is already taking steps in the right direction when it comes to making positive decisions for the environment, which is great to see, and I hope other clubs follow suit.”
James Parkinson, Brentford FC, Commercial Director, added: “This is an important initiative for us. We are working hard across our activities in the new stadium, at the Training Ground and with our partners, to make positive decisions which help to make us more sustainable. We’d encourage all of our fans who have a spare pair of boots to donate to drop them off at the Bees Superstore to help make a difference.”
The campaign also invites anyone with spare football boots or astro boots to request a freepost ‘boot bag’ to donate their boots, after which their boots will be reallocated via one of nine Utilita Energy Energy Hubs, for free. Premium pairs of the ‘most wanted’ retro boots and former and current players’ boots and other items will also be in the mix, giving anyone a chance to come along and grab a pair to be proud of.
Watch former England goalkeeper, David James MBE, launch the Football Rebooted collection points at his former secondary school here. As part of the new campaign, education institutions, community centres and sporting clubs can request boots be sent to them for children who they identify as needing football boots to enable them to play in or outside of school.
Find out more information about the campaign at www.footballrebooted.co.uk. Education partners, community centres and clubs can order their free pack here.