UNITED legend Michael Carrick visited Stretford Sports Village this week with the goal of encouraging people to donate their old, outgrown and unused football boots to charity.
The 36-year-old teamed up with Trafford Leisure to kick-off a borough-wide 'boot amnesty', to equip disadvantaged children with the kit needed to play football.
The Carrick Boot Room Campaign runs from Thursday, July 26 to Monday, September 3 and people are invited to drop off their old boots and astro trainers at any of Trafford Leisure's nine centres.
The boots will then be cleaned, bagged and redistributed to children at local community football sessions, groups and grassroots clubs around Trafford.
Carrick launched the Michael Carrick Foundation last year, to raise funds for sporting, social and educational programmes that will improve children’s life chances.
Michael Carrick, 36, is one of the most decorated English players of all time.
Carrick said: "So many children grow up in poverty lacking positive role models and safe places to play and we are committed to changing this.
"I’m confident that the boots you donate will make a real and meaningful difference to the kids in our local area.
"We want to ensure that all children have the adequate kit they need to fulfil their full potential, and that any barrier to participation is removed.
"Donating boots is a simple and effective way of getting the appropriate footwear to local children and ensuring that their experience is a positive one.
“Children’s feet notoriously grow quickly, needing new astro trainers and football boots every six months, well before the shoe is actually worn out.
"So we decided the best way to address this was to encourage anyone with unwanted or outgrown boots to recycle them by giving them to The Michael Carrick Foundation and letting us pass them onto someone who needs them more.”
“It’s fantastic that Trafford Leisure can support the work of the Michael Carrick Foundation and the Carrick’s Boot Room Campaign."
The Michael Carrick Foundation has provided funding for the next three years for the Carrick’s Street Reds football club which runs at Trafford Leisure’s Old Trafford Sports Barn, every Monday and Friday evening for children aged eight to nineteen.
Boot drop-off locations:
Altrincham Leisure Centre
Altrincham Golf Course
Sale Leisure Centre
George H Carnall
Stretford Sports Village
Partington Sports Village
Urmston Leisure Centre
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