A new partnership between MAN v FAT Football and Utilita Energy’s Football Rebooted campaign is set to change lives and help the planet.
Football Rebooted launched in May 2021 after a Utilita-commissioned report highlighted how the pandemic and cost-of-living pressures were hitting grassroots football. In the first weeks, thousands of pre-loved boots were donated, diverting pairs from landfill and getting more people playing.
MAN v FAT, the UK’s leading men’s weight-loss football programme, now supports over 8,000 men each week, including the Sandown group, which meets Tuesdays at 20:00 at The Bay Church of England School.
By teaming up with Football Rebooted, the club hopes to save families money while championing upcycling and reuse.
Sam Cook, Utilita’s Partnerships Marketing Manager, said the environmental impact is significant:
“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. Our aim is to prevent at least a million pairs of boots from ending up in landfill and save 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 – who joined the MAN v FAT Dudley League in May 2025 – helped kickstart the link-up:
“Given the financial hardship that families are facing, we understand it may be challenging for people to take part in team sports. The 2025 MAN v FAT National Football Tournament at Lilleshall was the perfect stage to launch the partnership, and I was delighted to take along the Football Rebooted collection boxes.”
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Matt Hudson, Associate Director of Marketing and Partnerships at MAN v FAT Football, added:
“The Football Rebooted scheme delivers a fun, stigma-free claim system for second-hand items. If you have spare or unused boots, please donate and help us make football accessible to everyone in the local community.”
How to get involved
- Clean up any spare football or astroturf boots and drop them at your nearest Football Rebooted collection point.
- Donations can also be made at the Island’s Utilita Energy Hub on Newport High Street—keeping boots in the local eco-system.
- Need boots? Individuals, families, schools and clubs can contact their local collection point to check sizes, or submit kit needs via the Football Rebooted website.
- Clubs, schools or community groups can order a FREE Football Rebooted box to start collecting and redistributing locally.
Find out more or claim a free collection box at www.footballrebooted.co.uk.
