Endowment fund · Prague
Sports shoes gathering dust in a wardrobe can open the door to training, school and friendship somewhere else. We connect donors in Europe with youth football academies that genuinely lack equipment.
About
The Shoes4Life endowment fund grew out of charity projects in developing countries. The goal was simple — get children the equipment without which sport is impossible. In our case mainly football boots and sports shoes.
Millions of children and adults worldwide have no shoes at all. At the same time, Europe is full of nearly new footwear nobody will wear again. Our job is to connect those two numbers — we collect, sort, check and deliver.
We support sport, and football in particular, around the world. We work with charities, clubs, volunteers and public institutions — from the Czech Association of Football Players through FIFPro and UNFP to the UEFA Foundation for Children.
It is not only about shoes. The academies we work with use football to tackle child labour, drugs, school attendance and equal access to sport for girls.
See our projectsHow it works
Six steps from a wardrobe in Czechia to a pitch in Rwanda or Ghana. In between, one pair of shoes that would otherwise end up in the bin.
A pair of boots or trainers nobody will wear again, but still in usable condition.
Drop them at a collection point, send them by post, or put them in an S4L box at your club.
Parcels come together at the Czech Association of Football Players. The whole collection is handled from there.
Every pair is checked by hand and sorted by size and condition. What does not pass goes to recycling.
The shipment travels to its destination country, usually together with equipment from other donors and partners.
A partner academy hands the shoes to specific children. Every handover is photographed.
Get involved
The rest is on us. Your part fits into five steps.
Choose which current Shoes4Life project you want to support. We are happy to tell you which shoes are needed right now.
If you want to collect through a sports club, let us know. We will send you an S4L collection box for your players to drop their old shoes into.
Bring or post clean, usable footwear to the Czech Association of Football Players, or to any collection point of the nearest players association.
We check the shoes carefully, sort them and send them where you chose. For smaller projects you can post them yourself.
We turn photos and reports from the handovers into content you will find with the projects and on Instagram.
“Donating shoes is the very least we can do to help.”Vladimír Šmicer, ambassador
Why we do it
Talent is distributed evenly. Equipment is not. That gap is exactly where Shoes4Life works — and it is a gap a single pair of shoes from your wardrobe can close.
Projects
Nine countries we send footwear to. The individual projects are listed below the map.
Do you lead a sports team, a youth centre or a support group where shoes would make a difference? Write to us and we will add your project to the list.
Financial support
We are building something you will enjoy — colour the kit for a specific player, pick a project and receive a donor certificate with your own line-up.
Coming soon
We are building a way to donate straight from the website. You will colour the kit for your player, choose the project your gift goes to, and receive a donor certificate with your own mascot — in exactly the line-up you put together.
Until it launches we deliberately publish no payment details here. Would you like to give now, or arrange corporate support? Write to us and we will sort it out directly.
Beware of fraudulent appeals. We will publish our account number here on the website and on our Instagram, nowhere else. We never ask for donations by text message or through unfamiliar profiles.
Contact
Pick a current project and bring or post clean, usable sports footwear to one of the collection points. Or leave it to us to decide where your shoes will help most.
Thank you for getting in touch. We will get back to you as soon as we have read it — usually within two working days.
In the meantime, take a look at where your shoes travel.
Clean, still usable sports footwear — football boots, indoor shoes, running and training shoes. Sadly we cannot pass on shoes with worn-through soles or torn uppers.
You can post them to our delivery address, bring them to a collection point, or ask us for a collection box for your club.
Yes. The Projects section lists what is running now. Just tell us with your parcel which project you prefer.
For financial gifts yes — we send the receipt by email.
It is, and it is one of the most effective ways to collect. Get in touch through the form and we will arrange a box, pick-up and material for your communications.
Ambassadors and team
Founder
Advokátka a předsedkyně České asociace fotbalových hráčů, přední odbornice na sportovní právo v Evropě.
Studium na Právnické fakultě UK dokončila v roce 2009, poté absolvovala LL.M. program na univerzitě v Curychu. Působila jako předsedkyně Odvolací a revizní komise FAČR a podílela se na založení ČAFH, kterou dnes vede.
Project manager
Od roku 2021 projektová manažerka nadačního fondu a ČAFH, ředitelka spolku Czech Women in Sport.
Bývalá profesionální sportovkyně, která se od dětství pohybuje ve fotbalovém prostředí. Vystudovala mezinárodní vztahy a evropská studia, druhým mateřským jazykem je němčina.
Ambassador
Profesionální tenistka, bývalá světová dvojka ve dvouhře a jednička ve čtyřhře, olympijská vítězka 2020.
Do projektu Shoes4Life pravidelně poskytuje boty, ve kterých odehrála světové turnaje.
Ambassador
Fotbalový internacionál, vítěz Ligy mistrů 2004/2005 s Liverpoolem, bývalý manažer reprezentace.
„Žijeme v konzumním světě, kdy většina z nás má speciální boty do posilovny, jiné na fotbal a jiné zas na běhání. Bohužel ne všichni mají podobné štěstí. Darování bot je to nejmenší, čím můžeme přispět a pomoci.“
Ambassador
Kapverdský fotbalista a bývalý reprezentant, zakladatel fotbalové školy na Kapverdských ostrovech.
Během kariéry působil v Portugalsku, Francii, Tunisku i v Česku. Podílel se na úplně prvním projektu Shoes4Life.
Ambassador
Profesionální srbský fotbalista. Kariéru nastartoval v NK Krka, prvním zahraničním angažmá byl Baník Ostrava.
Na klubové úrovni působil dále ve Slovinsku, na Slovensku, v Řecku a v Rusku.
Ambassador
Nigerijský fotbalista působící v druhé nejvyšší české lize, aktivní v charitě zaměřené na rodnou Nigérii.
Za pomoci Shoes4Life pravidelně dováží mladým fotbalistům potřebné sportovní vybavení.
Partners
