Welcome to 81footballboots.com, the home of real football boots

Thank you for visiting our site. As you will soon come to realise, everything we believe in is for the love of football, and we hope that you share these beliefs on the beautiful game. First though, here is the story of how we got here, and how and why 81 came into being...

In early 2006 two old friends were watching the latest dosage of Champions League football. The conversation was typical; too few British players and too much play acting leading to bad refereeing decisions. Too many over hyped European games, creating little sense of occasion. Too much money, too much caution and too little entertainment, creating a sub standard atmosphere and a reduced connection between the game and the soul. Too much greed. Too little desire. Too little pride. Too little passion.

The two friends sat in astonishment as one of them realised that not a single player on the pitch was wearing a traditional pair of black boots. How could this be? Legends such as Best, Charlton and Pele had all worn the typical black football boot, so why are they hardly ever worn by modern players?

The conversation went on, as the same friend told a tale of how he had recently attempted to buy a pair of black football boots with screw in studs, and was laughed at by the shop assistant in a major sports shop.

So why do you struggle to find a pair of good old black boots? Why is locating a pair of screw in studs like looking for buried treasure? The answer - force-feeding of plastic, hideously coloured dancing shoes with 'blades' on the sole. Too much marketing, too much promotion, too much cost cutting, too little choice, too little quality, too much greed, far too much profit.

Can you imagine players such as Tommy Smith, Terry Butcher and Norman Hunter being asked to play for their club in coloured boots?! We certainly can't.

Unfortunately it seems that the good old days when men were men are fading into distant memory. However, with your help we can rid the game of the soccer slippers more suited to the cat walks of Milan and Paris, and bring back the real football boot. The traditional black football boot. If it was good enough for the legends of the past then surely it is good enough for us...

And so 81 was born. Real football boots - black in colour with screw in studs. No gimmicks. No lies. Just pride and passion in abundance.