Perhaps now more than ever, our inability to agree on things is striking, with true consensus rare. Though clearly a low-stakes topic, football boots are certainly not an exception to this rule.
Take a look online at reviews or opinions on your favourite pair ever, and it won’t take long before you find someone who thinks they are an abomination, and it would take a similarly short amount of time to find a pair you hated being referred to as a gift from God.
One thing that you will be hard pressed to find anyone arguing against, however, is that they have become simply too expensive. An elite pair from one of the main brands will cost somewhere between £195 and £265, with boots made specifically for children consistently well over the £100 mark.
Kids, eh?
Though the frequency of new releases means that it is usually possible to find pairs significantly marked down, the retail prices can be a problem for parents in particular.
Explaining to a child that it makes more sense economically to buy the colourway that released a few months ago and is marked down rather than the brand new one that they’ve seen their favourite player wearing can prove difficult.
One such parent is Dr Yukti Hari Gupta, and she has taken matters in her own hands by launching LEMON, an affordable alternative made with microfiber leather and priced at £33 a pair.
After struggling between the high prices of the elite boot market and what she perceived as the lower quality of the cheaper ‘takedown’ models offered by big brands for her child, Dr Gupta (a scientist herself) spent three years researching, prototyping and market testing before eventually landing on the leather imitating microfiber upper that makes up LEMON football boots.
At just £33, LEMON is firmly at the price point of the ‘club’ tier, the most affordable available from the biggest brands that are made from lower tech materials than the ‘elite’ tier and can at times lack some of the quality and comfort. This was a compromise that Dr Gupta was unwilling to continue to make and LEMON aims to offer something close to the quality that comes at the higher price point but without the expense.
The boots are currently available in black and predominantly white colourways, with other options to launch. The LEMON Series 1 boot features an outsole with a mix of conical and chevron-shaped studs for a balance between rotational support and traction.
The outsole is fully recyclable as the brand aims to offer an alternative that is eco-friendly as well as affordable. The environmental impact of the football boot market as it is perhaps the biggest concern alongside price, and Dr Gupta has sought to address both of these with LEMON.
With the brand also sponsoring tournaments, with winners receiving pairs of boots as well as team discounts on bulk orders and offering free customisation, it is clear that this is a community-minded project committed to the benefit of junior grassroots football in particular.
LEMON is an eco-friendly, community-focused brand seeking to offer an affordable alternative at a time when most families could really do with one. Any one of these would make it a welcome addition to the ever-expanding football boot market but all of them together mean the landscape looks better now that LEMON is in it.
Visit LemonSports.co.uk to check out the range
