Football Rebooted launched in May 2021 after findings from a Utilita-commissioned report into the combined impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living-crisis on grassroots football.
The response from fans was immediate and within the first few weeks, thousands of pre-loved football boot donations had flooded in, not only reducing potential landfill but also making a difference to the lives of children and adults in the UK.
MAN v FAT, the UK’s leading men’s weight loss programme, guides over 8,000 men every week on their wellbeing journey. Having joined forces with Football Rebooted, the scheme will not only be saving families a few quid but will be reinforcing the importance of upcycling and reusing items that still have a lot of life left in them.
Pro-pocket, pro-planet
Sam Cook, Utilita’s Partnerships Marketing Manager, commented on the environmental impact of rehoming boots: “Since its launch in 2021, the Football Rebooted campaign has collected and reallocated thousands of quality football boots, saving hard-pressed families a small fortune and helping to reduce landfill and carbon emissions.
“To put the environmental benefits into context, our aim is to prevent at least a million pairs of boots from ending up in landfill and saving 136,000 tonnes of carbon – the same as taking 7,000 cars off the road for a year.”
Chris Hawkins, Utilita’s West Bromwich Energy Hub Supervisor, helped to instigate the partnership, having recently joined the MAN v FAT Dudley League in May 2025.
Chris said: “Given the financial hardship that families are facing, we understand that it may be challenging for people to be able to take part in team sports. The 2025 MAN v FAT National Football Tournament, held at the Lilleshall National Centre, provided a perfect stage to launch the partnership and I was delighted to take along the Football Rebooted collection boxes.
“As a regular MAN v FAT Football competitor, I consider the partnership to be a natural fit as we share so many goals to help adults and youngsters be active, participate and enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of team sport.”
Matt Hudson, Associate Director of Marketing and Partnerships at MAN v FAT Football, commented on the why the weight-loss initiative is supporting the campaign: “The Football Rebooted scheme delivers an extremely fun and unique claim system that avoids any family needing to feel embarrassed at taking second-hand items. If you have any spare or unused football boots, please consider donating and helping us make football accessible to everyone in the local community!
“We’d like to thank our players and their supporters for getting behind the Football Rebooted scheme, which plays a vital role in giving both children and adults the opportunity to take advantage of the physical, mental, and social benefits of playing a sport.”
How can you get involved?
Anyone with a spare pair of football boots (or astro turf boots) should simply give them a clean and drop them off at their local Football Rebooted collection point.
Boots can also be donated at any of the Utilita Energy Hubs – located in West Bromwich, Gosport, Southampton, Newport (Isle of Wight), Luton, Derby, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Leicester, Blackburn, Huddersfield and Hartlepool – keeping them in the local eco-system to ensure they’re re-used.
Anyone requiring football boots, including individuals and families, can simply reach out to their local collection point to check what sizes are available before coming to collect them. Schools and clubs in need of football boots can also submit their kit requirements via the Football Rebooted website.
To get a FREE Football Rebooted box and start collecting and redistributing boots within your club, school or local community, please contact marketing@manvfat.com or visit www.footballrebooted.co.uk.
