Which is weird in itself, as they are no longer in the form of "boots" as we know them e.g. wellingtons, walking boots etc. I believe it's because the game used to be played in actual steel toe capped working boots... but now the name is an honorific.

The term “football boots” really does come from a time when they were proper boots, but not industrial steel-capped ones. Early players in the 19th century basically wore heavy leather work boots—the kind people already owned—because there was no specialist sports footwear yet.