FIFA has purchased 20,000 pairs of football boots to be handed out for free to children around the world during the project’s pilot phase.

FIFA claims that the initiative is aimed to benefit disadvantaged children around the world. “Many children in many parts of the world cannot afford to buy boots,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, while handing out the first pair of boots. To kickstart the campaign, FIFA has purchased 20,000 pairs of FIFA-branded football boots in nine different sizes that can be used in training, competition and leisure settings. During the project’s initial phase, they will be distributed to young girls and boys who normally could not afford a pair.

“The FIFA Boots For All initiative is very important for us. We are launching a pilot project today in this respect. Why? Because, of course, football boots are still the most expensive part of the equipment (needed to play football), and many children in many parts of the world cannot afford to buy boots,” said President Infantino, while handing out the first pairs to children from suburbs in the French capital, Paris.

FIFA Arena mini-pitch

The FIFA president did the handout at the opening of a temporary FIFA Arena mini-pitch on the Place de la Concorde. It is interesting to note that FIFA Arena mini-pitches are all finished with a non-fill synthetic turf surface. The international football governing body has the ambition of having 1,000 of these pitches installed globally.

Non-fill is currently not permitted for the FIFA Quality Turf Programme, partly because the surface is often perceived as slippery. While research on this surface has been ongoing since 2020, no synthetic turf non-fill system has thus far passed the tests that are mandatory to be accepted for the FIFA Quality Turf Programme. One aspect that is discussed is becoming more involved in advising players on which shoes to wear on different types of synthetic turf surfaces.

Thousands to come

“We start now with a pilot phase, 20,000 boots in 10 to 15 countries. If the results are good, as we believe they will be, because the quality of these boots is very good, then, we’ll produce many, many more,” Infantino explained, noting that “eventually, hundreds of thousands of boots will be going around the world and children can benefit from them”.

He added: “We produce them, we ship them, we send them to our FIFA Member Associations all over the world. The focus will be Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Oceania – those countries with the most needs will be the first ones to be served. And our FIFA Member Associations, all over the world, will then decide where, which schools, and which children can benefit from these boots, which will be for free.”