Aylsham Football Club is aiming to help African youngsters enjoy the sport by sending them their discarded football boots.

They will be collecting used boots at the club and at other points in the town for the charity Boots2Africa.

The charity collects, transports and distributes donated boots to Africa’s children and young adults through relief organisations, which also accept donations for their work.

Thousands of children in the United Kingdom, Europe and other first world countries, discard their football boots at the end of each playing season. Most boots are adaptable to life in bush towns and urban settlements.

Millions of children across Africa have no shoes, for school, life and playing games. Disease, infections and snakebites kill thousands and injure and incapacitate many others every year. Many others struggle physically and needlessly because of illness caused from infections of the foot. The charity aims to help through donations.

Gus Bates, Aylsham FC youth chairman, said: “All we have to do is collect old unwanted football boots and astro trainers, these will then be collected and distributed to children around Africa. Youngsters in this country generally have so much so it’s nice to be able to help out those less fortunate when we can.”

The club is looking forward to a big crowd at Youngs Park on Saturday when Norwich City Elite Youth will be playing at the ground. And Gus hopes people will bring along their boots then to donate.

“We will also be placing collection bags at the ground on youth days,” he said. “We’d be delighted to send a good load of boots away to help these youngsters.”