All match worn & issued items we get into stock come from impeccable sources within our network of contacts in the football industry across Europe. Due to being based in London, United Kingdom, we mainly source items of players within the English Premier League. However, with our network of contacts across the continent we are also able to acquire items of players from other top leagues such as La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 & Serie A. There are many different ways to tell apart a genuine player issued / match worn item, especially football boots, to a general commercial pair you’ll find in a retail store. These can be details such as name personalisation, custom sizing, bespoke soleplates, higher quality materials, better build quality, orthopaedic innersoles, among other tells. Player specific boots tend to be manufactured in different countries to commercial store version items produced for retail sale - however this is not the case 100% of the time.

Every item available here at www.bcboots.uk comes with our certificate of authenticity (COA) which guarantees the genuine nature of each item, with it having passed our stringent authentication checks and procedures.

The different authentication tells can differ between brands, listed below are some ways to spot a professional player pair from a standard retail pair, whilst also being able to use those points to differentiate between genuine and potential fake match worn/player issued football boots of the respective brands.

Match issued means that the boots have been custom made for and supplied to the professional player, but have remained unworn and unused - essentially a spare pair. There are a number of reasons a pair of players' boots may not get used, for example in times such as during pre season and at the start of a season where players may not use the SG boots supplied to them by their sponsor as the pitches are not soft enough, so if they'll remain match issued and prepared if unused. Another time this can happen is if a player is supplied a pair during an injury spell, the boots will still be match issued and prepared but may not actually get worn as the next colourway may be released by the time the player is fit to play again. 

Match worn means that the boots have been worn by the player in a match or multiple matches. This may also include training sessions, however that will differ from player to player. Some change boots almost every match, so sometimes their pairs may only ever be worn once or twice -

There's a long list of variables that come into play with the market value of a pair or match worn or issued football boots. Which player the boots are from is of course the main variable, the bigger the player the higher the value as they will simply be more desirable for collectors to have in a collection. Modifications have a big effect on the market value, as the more parts that separate a pair from retail versions, the more special and rare it makes them, therefore making them more desirable. The worlds' elite players can customise pretty much anything on their boots such as soleplates, upper materials and so on. The players potential is another factor, if a player is up and coming the value of their boots may even be higher than an already established player in the same position as them. For example, Jadon Sancho's boots have a higher market value than Franck Ribery's.Where the boots are made. This can add just that extra bit of desirability  when looking for a pair of match worn boots. For example, if a Nike pair have been made in the famous Montebelluna factory it makes them just that extra bit special and more desirable.Match worn pairs tend to be worth more than match issued/prepared pairs, mainly due to the fact they are that extra bit more desirable. A worn pair may contain a piece of history from the player they were worn by, such as the player may have scored a certain goal in that pair or they were worn in a particular match/tournament. Whilst match issued/prepared pairs are still specially made for a player and are so different to retail pairs, they just don't carry that same extra bit of X factor that a match worn pair has.

Sometimes pairs of match worn or match issued boots will come without any insoles. This is because most players use 1 pair of insoles for multiple pairs of boots for comfort reasons, and usually those insoles are completely bespoke made just for their feet, by their sponsor or sometimes by a third party company. We managed to acquire a pair of Gareth Bale's insoles, which were made by Podoactiva who are a company that specialise in bespoke sports equipment such as shin guards and insoles for elite professional athletes. This is not always the case, sometimes players will just simply wear a standard pair of insoles, it really is circumstantial from player to player. Some players, such as Ilkay Gundogan & Gabriel Jesus, get their insoles specially made for them by their sponsor Adidas. Custom insoles are more commonly known as orthopaedic insoles.