Kicking back Kickaround: What is MEET THE your earliest memory of WRITER – football? Mitch Johnson: I remember MITCH JOHNSON, in the World Cup when David Beckham got sent AUTHOR OF off against Argentina, then “KICK” England lost on penalties. That was my first football heartbreak. Kick is a story about Budi, Before that I played a young boy who is football football in the street with my crazy. He dreams of playing brother. We were very lucky for Real Madrid, just like his hero because we had a small plastic goal and Kieran Wakefield. However, instead we put it on the kerb outside the house. Budi spends his life stuck in a horrible, We would get home from school and go sweaty factory sewing football boots. straight out there to play football. I’d You’ve seen how . Then, one unlucky kick brings his world pretend to be Alan Shearer crashing down. boots are made, now Kick What follows is an incredible tale of K: Where did you get the idea for find out what life can following your dreams and refusing to from, and why did you decide to set it give up, no matter what life throws at in Indonesia? be like for the people you. The book’s writer, Mitch Johnson, MJ: When I worked in a sports shop chatted to Kickaround about his I found an energy gel wrapper in a who make them by . football memories, how he came up shoebox for a pair of football boots reading Kick! with the idea for the book and what It got me thinking about who had you can do to help children like Budi. made those boots. Obviously it was an
Who makes your football boots?
As we explained on the last page, most However, big companies such as companies prefer to make their boots in Adidas and Nike now make sure their the Far East because it is cheaper to pay boots are not made in factories like this. workers there. These days their workers are paid enough Unfortunately, the small amount of money to live on, and their factories are money the workers are paid often means cleaner and nicer places to work in. It’s they struggle to afford basic things like a still a tough job though! house and food. Working conditions can also be very difficult for these people. The factories often have no windows, are very hot and noisy, and the work is extremely tiring. Occasionally the factory owners force children to do these jobs. This is called These boots child labour and is against the law. have come a long way
42
k2_Boots_Author.indd 42 20/04/2018 14:22 exhausting job if they were drinking energy gels. That’s what inspired me to fair: there are a set of rules, think about the lives of these people. two teams turn up, they play Football is amazing, but it’s and there’s a winner. If we want to important to look behind the scenes live in a world that is because it’s not always as great for need to stop companiesas fairtreating as sport their other people. we Indonesia workers badly. boots are made, so I set the is where story athere. lot of K: What can we do to improve the lives K: The book is not just about football, of the people like Budi? it’s about dreams, family and child Kicking back MJ labour. Why did you choose football as : You could do some research and find out if the company that has made your the thing Budi loved? boots is doing something that you don’t MJ: Everyone loves the twists and turns agree with. If they are, contact them and in football. When Leicester tell them that you are not happy with the Premier League that was unthinkable. won the way they treat their workers. The unexpectedness of football is really useful for stories. When the plot of the You can also support human rights charities. story twists and turns it’s like the twists Amnesty International protect human rights around the world. and turns of a player in a match, or the If you raise money for a charity like that twists and turns of a team in a season. they would be able to go out and do good work to help people like Budi. K: We all wear football boots. Why is it Kick is out now and costs £6.99, important we learn how they are made? published by Usborne MJ: Everyone has a set of basic rights that should be respected. Unfortunately, in these kinds of industries these rights are ignored, overlooked or denied of the best things about sport is that. One it’s
FOOT NOTES
s Most players wear very heavy work boots with metal studs COMPETITION hammered into the bottom. We have three copies of Kick to s Boots become lighter as give away that have been signed companies like Adidas get involved. by Mitch Johnson! To win one, just s Hummel make the first white answer the following question: boots, worn by Everton’s Alan Ball. Which club does Budi dream of The Puma King and Adidas’ s playing for? Copa Mundial put comfort first. A) Real Madrid B) Barcelona s Adidas launch the Predator C) Manchester United while Nike arrive at the World Cup with the Tiempo Premier. Get an adult to email the answer, along with your name and age, to: s Boot madness! Bright colours [email protected] and blades both become fashionable. Closing date: 1st June. Good luck! ss Some boots now include T&Cs apply, see kickaroundmag.co.uk for details microchips to track players’ performance!
‘Image reproduced from Kick by permission of Usborne Publishing, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, UK. www.usborne.com. Copyright © 2017 Usborne Publishing Ltd. Illustrated by Oriol Vidal. 43
k2_Boots_Author.indd 43 20/04/2018 14:22