The story so far...
The BIG idea
Utilita’s Football Rebooted started with the idea to save at least one million pairs of football boots from going to landfill.
David James MBE
The campaign was co-founded by former England & Premier League goalkeeper, David James MBE.
David James has been involved at every step of the campaign, working tirelessly to understand challenges being faced and visiting clubs and venues across the UK to promote the economical, social and environmental benefits of Football Rebooted. David’s national profile and keen interest in the environment makes him the perfect campaign ambassador.
The focus
Focus groups with people from across the grassroots and professional game helped to highlight the need for Football Rebooted and shaped how it would work.
The need
It became clear that households across the UK had good quality surplus boots lying at home or worse still had thrown them away - and elsewhere children and adults were struggling to afford them. If we could make it free and easy for people to donate and claim boots then Football Rebooted’s impact could be HUGE.
The timing
The creation of Football Rebooted couldn’t have been more timely - coinciding with the start of the global pandemic and with the continuation of the cost-of-living crisis in the UK, their combined impact on the grassroots game has been devastating.
As long-time supporters of grassroots football, Utilita have commissioned 3 reports since 2020 looking into the social and economic impact on grassroots football.
2022
2021
2020
42% of parents said affordability has got in the way of play.* Football Rebooted could help alleviate one of the barriers to play by making boots available for free.
*Source: OnePoll - Grassroots Football Survey, 2023.
The Launch
The response
The response to Football Rebooted was immediate. Within the first few weeks thousands of boot donations had flooded in. It not only validated the research behind the campaign but was humbling to see the entire football community wanting to get involved and it helped inspire the next steps regarding how boots could be distributed…
The Box
The Football Rebooted Boot Collection box was introduced. Making boxes available for FREE was the key to empowering clubs, schools and organisations to be able collect and redistribute boots in their own communities and grow a nationwide Football Rebooted network.
The School Launch
“Every school should have one.”
— Sarah Mitcherson, Head Teacher of Rideway Academy.
In October 2021, David James headed back to his old school to introduce the UK’s first Football Rebooted boot collection box.
Courtney Sweetman-Kirk
Courtney Sweetman-Kirk became an official football Rebooted ambassador in January 2023.
After a successful career playing for clubs including Doncaster Rovers Belles, Everton and Liverpool in the WSL, Courtney is now a respected media figure on TV and radio.
She has used her profile to quickly establish herself as a passionate ambassador for Football Rebooted, championing its power to enable access to sport for all young people, a cause very close to Courtney’s heart.
The Reunion
“You can be anything you want to be. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t.”
— Courtney Sweetman-Kirk
Recognising the impact Football Rebooted could have, particularly for girls at Primary School age, Courtney visited her old school where it all started for her to introduce Football Rebooted.
The Nationwide Impact
The impact of Football Rebooted is being felt across the country – not only by saving tens of thousands of boots from landfill but by finding them good homes and making a difference to the lives of children and adults in the UK.
Football for all.
“Without Football Rebooted we wouldn’t have been able to start a girl’s football team.”
— Sam Smith, Coach at Mapledene School
Supporting Grassroots clubs across the country.
“I think all clubs should be doing it.”
— Louie, (aged 10) from Red Falcon Juniors FC
Palace for Life Foundation – Refugee football program
“It’s helped me a lot with my mental and physical health.”
— Steven | UK Asylum Seeker
The Backing
Every individual involved in football can contribute or benefit from Football Rebooted but having organisations behind the movement really help to increase its network and wider impact.
Premier League and EFL clubs, Soccer Aid players, Powerleague, County FA's, Team Grassroots and grassroots clubs and schools have all helped raise the movement's national profile.
The Environment
We estimate over 200,000 boots have been donated through Football Rebooted – that’s stopped them going to landfill and the equivalent carbon emissions saving from that number of boots being made is nearly 3,000 tonnes.
Recognised for its widespread impact, Football Rebooted was featured on Sky Sports’ Programme - Football’s Toughest Opponent, a program looking at how football clubs are tackling the climate emergency.
Utility Week Awards 2023
Football Rebooted was also nominated for the Environmental, Social and Governance Initiative of the Year Award, recognising the wider impact utilities can have on communities and the environment.
Utilita also won the Cost of Living Award – the only energy supplier to win an award that year.
The Statistics
700+
Boxes across the UK
200k
Boots saved*
2,720
Tonnes CO2 emissions saved**
*Estimated figure, based on average number of boots per collection point at Utilita Energy Hubs and sample of 44 grassroots clubs - correct as of April 2024 (Source: Utilita Energy & Birmingham County FA).
**Based on the estimated number of boots donated (200,000, as of April 2024) and the carbon emissions generated in the manufacturing of a new pair of boots (30lbs of CO2).
The numbers
Every time a pair of football boots or trainers is made, around 30lbs of carbon is generated, having a detrimental impact on the environment.
Football Rebooted aims to rehome one million pairs of ‘pre-played’ football boots and AstroTurf trainers, not only saving families a fortune and stopping boots going to landfill, it will save 13,636 tonnes of carbon! This is the equivalent of turning the energy off in one million medium-sized homes for over a week* or taking nearly 10,000 cars off the road for a year!**
*Based on the annual average of 2900 kWh electricity consumption per medium-sized house. 2900 / 365 = 7.94kWh per day. 0.207074kg is the amount of carbon emissions generated by one KWh of energy. Per day, (7.94kWh x 0.207074kg) a medium-sized home generates 1.64kg of carbon emissions. 1.64kg is equivalent to 3.615 lbs. 30lbs (generated by manufacturing new boots) is equivalent to 13.6kg / 1.64kg = 8.29 (days of energy).
**Based on the annual averages of 7,200 miles per car x 1.39 tonnes CO2 per car = 9,810 cars off the road for a year.
The Future
