Essendon Football Club and AFL Victoria have again joined forces with the ‘Boots For All’ campaign which provides disadvantaged Australians with sports equipment and football boots.

Many disadvantaged children and adults miss out on the opportunity to participate in football because they cannot access boots and other necessary sporting equipment. The Boots For All campaign aims to redistribute quality, second-hand boots to disadvantaged teams across Australia.

Essendon’s commitment to the Boots For All campaign was evident at the club’s 2012 Family Day with Bomber players Patrick Ryder and Elliot Kavanagh on hand to provide information around the initiative.

Ryder said no-one should miss out on the opportunity to take part in footy because of the lack of access to football boots and appropriate equipment.

“There are children and adults across Australia that cannot afford to purchase their boots which means they can’t get involved with footy or other kinds of sports,” Ryder said.

“Anyone that has a second-hand pair of boots can donate it to the Boots For All campaign to support disadvantage youths and adults across the country.”

Kavanagh also provided his own pair of second-hand boots to the not-for-profit organisation during the club’s Family Day.

Boots For All Founder Joanne Rockwell said the continued donation of football boots and sporting equipment was vital to the campaign.

“We’re really grateful to partner with the Essendon Football Club and AFL Victoria to help get the word out and we urge people to donate their boots to those in need,” Rockwell said.

“The campaign with the Essendon Football Club and AFL Victoria will help break down barriers to sport by redistributing quality, second-hand sports equipment to disadvantaged teams across Australia.”

AFL Victoria CEO Grant Williams said the campaign would benefit a number of participants across the AFL Victoria’s programs.

“Boots For All will provide opportunities for disadvantaged players or teams to participate in the game of Australia Rules Football,” Williams said.

“One of AFL Victoria’s objectives is to develop community engagement initiatives. We feel strongly about providing support for organisations that aim to promote active participation in our sport and promote inclusion.”