# Football boot

Football boots, also known as cleats or soccer shoes in North American English, are a type of shoe worn when playing association football (soccer), most of its variations, and some games that are played on the same surface. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the outsole to aid grip. Modern football boots are no longer truly traditional boots, as they do not cover the ankle. As with most other types of athletic footwear, their basic design and appearance have converged with those of sneakers since the 1960s.
Despite being most associated with football and rugby, the shoe is often used in other sports that are played on grass surfaces, such as touch, lacrosse, hurling, shinty, and tug of war.

## History
### 1800s

During the 19th century, various forms of football became increasingly popular in Great Britain. Participants would wear their heavy and hard work-boots to play. These were an early form of football boots with the steel toe-cap at the front, and they had long laces and were high-topped. These boots also sometimes had metal studs or tacks put on the bottom, so players would have more grip and stability.
In the later part of the 19th century, the first ever football-specific boot was designed, made of thick and heavy leather that ran right to the ankle for increased protection; the first boot weighed 500 grams (18 oz) and would double in weight when it was wet.

### 1900–1940

During this period, the style of football boots stayed very basic. They remained so during the inter-war years, despite football-boots becoming more popular.

### 1940–1960

After the Second World War, the designs of the football boot changed dramatically. The South Americans first wore lighter and more flexible boots, which later came to the attention of other nations. This design focused on improving control and kicking-power rather than on a more protective boot. In 1954, Adi Dassler introduced screw-in studs that were used by the German team during a rain-lashed World Cup final that year. (Adi Dassler's older brother, Rudolf Dassler, founder of Puma, disputes the claim that Adi Dassler originated screw-in studs.)

### 1960s

In the 1960s, many football boots featured a lower cut and were designed to be lighter and more flexible. Mitre, Joma, and Asics joined the fray. Adidas became the top manufacturer during this decade, with 75% of players at the 1966 FIFA World Cup wearing Adidas.

### 1970s

The 1970s saw many major advances and changes in the design of football boots. These changes included lighter boots and a variety of colours. Boot sponsorship also became more widespread. Adidas was the market leader in this period, releasing new technologies such as padding to provide heel protection. In 1979, Adidas released the successful Copa Mundial. During this time period, some of the most common types of natural leather came into use: kangaroo leather, calfskin and full-grain/cow leather.

### 1980s

The 1980s saw further development of the technological advances of the football boot in the 1970s. Umbro, Lotto, and Kelme joined the market in this decade.

### 1990s

New types of soles were introduced to improve the balance of the player. The Adidas Predator, designed by Australian Craig Johnston in the late 1980s, was released in 1994. Mizuno, Reebok, Uhlsport, and Nike began consistently making football boots in this decade. Nike's first popular boot, the Nike Mercurial Vapor was worn by Ronaldo at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

### 2000s

In the first decade of the 21st century, laser technology was introduced to produce the first fully customized football boot in 2006. The first laceless boot, the Lotto Zhero Gravity, was also released in 2006. Laceless boots later became very popular in the late 2010s.

### 2010s onward

In the era of the modern game that sees the tempo of matches becoming faster and players more technically inclined, manufacturers introduced new technology, including lighter footwear made from alternative materials. Laceless boots became popular after Adidas released the Ace PureControl in 2016. The first laceless boots were released by the Italian bootmaker company Lotto in 2006. Lotto Zero Gravity was worn by players such as Cafu, Andriy Shevchenko, and Luca Toni. Companies such as Adidas Umbro, New Balance, and Nike have also released their versions of laceless shoes. Laceless boots demonstrate better lock down and lateral stability. A knitted upper allows players to have better ball control due to a larger surface area.

## Material for football boots

Football boots can be made from many different materials such as rubber, synthetic such as nylon and polyurethane, or leather. The most popular material for football boots is kangaroo leather. Kangaroo leather is breathable and lightweight. Some players prefer leather, while others like synthetic or plastic material because they are more durable and cheaper.

## Different styles for different surfaces

Depending on the type of surface, kind of sport and even the wearer's position or role in the game, different styles of boot and particularly stud configurations are available.
For hard pitches, amateur participants may wear a turf football boot (TF) or a plastic-stud boot (known as a "molded sole"). For indoor football, companies developed indoor court (IC) boots. These come with rubber soles intended to maximize grip on the floor, and are specifically designed for the indoor game. For football on turf or artificial grass, some players wear regular firm ground (FG) football boots. But wearing regular football boots on turf greatly reduces the life of the boot, so manufacturers have developed football boots for artificial grass (AG), which have smaller circular studs. The other type of football boot is SG (soft ground) for playing on well-grassed or sodden field. When playing on this kind of pitch, some players favor using a boot with screw-in studs in their non-dominant (supporting) foot to provide grip, and a boot with short rubber or plastic studs in the dominant (kicking/passing) foot to help accuracy.
More recently, molded soles with specially designed boots known as blades have molded soles facing in multiple directions, theoretically to maximise grip and minimize ankle injury. Recently, however, "bladed" football boots have faced criticism from some UK sporting bodies for causing potentially serious injuries to players. English football club Manchester United have even banned their players from wearing boots with bladed studs after players like Wayne Rooney and David Beckham suffered repeated metatarsal injuries.
Questions have been raised about the safety of female footballers wearing men's football boots, mainly due to foot shape and weight distribution differences between women's and men's feet. Despite football boots being unisex, studies have shown that women tend to get injured more often while playing in football boots.

## Football markets and brands

Originally, football boots were available only in black, but they are now available in a wide variety of colours. Nike's flagship shoes are the Phantom VNM, Phantom VSN, Tiempos, and The Nike Mercurial Vapor worn by Cristiano Ronaldo. Adidas are responsible for the Predator range, as worn by David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Steven Gerrard, as well as the long-surviving Copa Mundial. The entire German national side wore Adidas boots during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. German firm Puma's flagship shoes are the Puma King Platinum, Puma Future, and Puma One worn by Sergio Agüero, Cesc Fàbregas, and Antoine Griezmann.
The Puma King boots have been worn by players, such as Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruyff, and Diego Maradona.
In recent times, the most successful companies are Nike and Adidas. Among Nike's endorsers are two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian striker Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Adidas, which has been providing football boots with screw-in studs to the German national football team since the 1954 FIFA World Cup, have signed agreements with players such as David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Frank Lampard, Lionel Messi and Steven Gerrard. Puma signed players such as Antoine Griezmann, Gianluigi Buffon, Cesc Fàbregas, Romelu Lukaku and Neymar
Biggest boot deals in the world football :
| Player | Brand | Figure (per year) |
| Neymar | Puma | £23m |
| Erling Haaland | Nike | £20m |
| Lionel Messi | Adidas | £18m |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Nike | £15m |
| Kylian Mbappé | Nike | £14m |
| Jack Grealish | Puma | £10m |
| Mario Balotelli | Puma | £5m |
| Antoine Griezmann | Puma | £3.5m |
| Paul Pogba | Adidas | £3m |
| Marco Verratti | Nike | £2.5m |
| Mohamed Salah | Adidas | £2.5m |