Nike and Adidas urged by MPs to promote football boots designed for women and girls

Major sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma have responded to claims from MPs that there is a lack of football boots designed specifically for female players.

The Women and Equalities Committee published a report on Monday detailing the answers from brands, after raising serious questions about female athletes getting injured while wearing boots designed for men.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are currently rife in women's football, with England's captain Leah Williamson and Arsenal star Beth Mead among those forced to sit out of the Women's World Cup because of the injury.

"ACL injuries impacted five of the world’s top 20 female footballers in 2022," the committee report said.

While research is still being carried out, scientists have suggested that wearing boots designed for male players could be putting female players at higher risk of sustaining injuries.

This is because football boots fail to account for the fact women's feet, heels and arches are shaped differently, according to an article in Sports Engineering published last year.

The committee wrote that the brands cite "lower consumer demand for and awareness of female-specific boots and sports retailers’ reluctance to invest in different products as some of the historic barriers to a wider range of options for women and girls."

Nike, Adidas, and Puma all pledged their commitment to bettering women's football through their products, detailing the research going into specific sportswear designs for women and girls.

IDA Sports, whose range of boots is designed specifically for women’s feet, also replied with the action they are taking to tackle the problem.

But Committee Chair Caroline Nokes said the brands' progress needs to be better reflected on the high street and online.

"It remains the case that major retailers give limited recognition to women and girls when it comes to football boots," she said.

"It is no good investing in research and making boots for female football players if women are unaware of those products or unable to buy them."

She added that it is "disappointing" that they received no responses from retailers as part of the inquiry.

Ms Nokes said: "We call on the brands to do more to influence their behaviour and build on the interest in the Women’s World Cup and increasing popularity of the women’s game."

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