EFL announce major change to Golden Boot awards as £50k pledge confirmed

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The English Football League’s goalscorers have been given the chance to compete for another award beyond the Golden Boot.

Each of the Championship, League One and League Two gives the Golden Boot to each player who nets the most goals in their respective leagues that season.

Last term, Leeds United’s Joel Piroe, Leyton Orient striker Charlie Kelman, who was on loan from Queens Park Rangers, and Bromley’s Michael Cheek won the awards.

Now, all three winners from all three leagues can go head-to-head for one new prize – and a large donation is set to be given to the British Heart Foundation as a result.

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EFL’s top goalscorer will receive Red Boot as Sky Bet make £50k commitment

The EFL have announced that the top scorer across all three leagues this season will be given the ‘Red Boot’.

Every goal scored by that winner will be worth £50,000 each, that will then be donated to the British Heart Foundation by Sky Bet, the EFL’s sponsor.

The deal comes following the British Heart Foundation’s partnership with the EFL to raise awareness of and to promote CPR training.

Last season, Wimbledon’s Sam Hutchinson was revealed to have had a cardiac arrest during a game, while former Luton captain Tom Lockyer collapsed during the Championship play-off final in 2023 and had a cardiac arrest against Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Who scored the most EFL goals last season, and how much would that have generated?

Michael Cheek bagged the most goals last term, netting 25 goals in total in the league.

He would have won the new ‘Red Boot’ had it been in place then, totalling a donation of £1,250,000.

That shows the sort of figure that could be generated this year.

Right now, Matthew Dennis at Notts County is leading the way for the new award, with six goals in seven appearances.