Soccer / Football - Shoes

Football shoes are specially designed cleated footwear worn while playing football. These are also called football boots, cleats or sometimes as soccer shoes in North America. The shoes are ideal for playing on grass pitches and have studs on the outer side to provide a good grip. The basic design of modern football shoes is similar to sneakers and doesn’t cover the player’s ankles. Some of the most famous football shoes manufacturing brands around the world include Nike, Adidas, Nivia, Puma and so on. 

Types of Football Shoes

• Firm ground football shoes - Firm-ground shoe plates are most popular in the market. It provides maximum grip and comfort to the footballers. The shoes are ideal for playing on natural grass with dry or slightly wet pitches. Firm ground shoes can be used in summers and even in freezing temperatures. The sole has studs arranged strategically to increase the stud pressure and distribute the load evenly across the soleplate. The studs come in a variety of shapes, sizes and patterns and all have their own advantages and disadvantages.  
• Soft ground shoes - The traditional soft ground soles used to have a six-stud configuration with four studs placed in the front and two studs at the rear. However, the modern soft ground soles have hybrid plates. These have interchangeable metal studs that provide maximum grip and traction to the shoes. The soles of these shoes are ideal for wet pitches that firmly lubricate the sole to avoid sticking of mud and grass. 
• Artificial ground shoes - The artificial ground shoes are designed to perform well with the extra abrasion given by artificial grass. The sole has multiple studs as compared to standard firm ground shoes and is highly stiff, thus the comfort level also varies as compared to other football shoes. 
• Astroturf shoes - The astroturf shoes have specially designed soles, ideal for traditional water and sand-based pitches. These shoes have a rubber-based sole to keep the foot very close to the ground and thus reduce the chance of slipping.
• Indoor court shoes - Indoor court football shoes are used in futsal or 5-a-side matches. These shoes have non-marking rubber soles ideal for playing on the hardwood courts. Indoor shoes have very flat soles with grooves throughout to provide comfort and better manoeuvrability.

Evolution of Football Shoes through the years

Football was highly popularized during the 1800s in Britain. Players used to wear their work boots for playing, which were heavy on the foot and not suitable for kicking the ball or even for running. Later, the boots were modified and had metal studs on the bottom to provide additional grip. In the late 1800s, the first official football shoes were introduced. Those were heavier, made from leather and went up to the ankle for better protection.

During the 1940s to 1960s, the design of the shoes was modified drastically. The new shoes were lighter and more flexible with better kicking capacity than its earlier leather variant. By the 1970s, the shoes were much lighter and more attractive with the addition of colours. In the following decade, shoe sponsorship became famous and Adidas rose as the market leader during those years. The best-selling boots of all times, the Copa Mundial were released by Adidas in 1979.

Even in the 1980s, leather was preferred for manufacturing of playing shoes and companies like Lotto, Umbro and more arose. In the 1990s, plenty of modifications took place in the manufacturing of high-performance shoes. Meanwhile, Adidas Predator dominated the market and Nike Mercurial established its name in speed boots. By the 2010s, blades replaced the regular studs. With recent innovations, the shoes are equipped with chips and tracker so that the players can monitor their performance and movement on computer or mobile.