How Cleats Became Part and Parcel of the Game of Soccer

WHAT ARE SOCCER CLEATS?

Soccer cleats are an item of footwear worn when playing association football.

Some people call them football boots, while others call them soccer cleats or soccer shoes.

In other words, soccer cleats are the same thing as soccer shoes or football boots.

There are different types of football boots for different purposes.

For example, while some are designed for grass pitches with studs on the outsole to aid grip, others are designed to be used on sand and on other non-slippery surfaces.

WHY DO PLAYERS WEAR CLEATS TO PLAY FOOTBALL?

Would you like to try this question?

While you’re preparing to make an attempt, let me proceed to give you my own answer.

I’ll do that after sharing a short story with you.

Here’s my story!

While I was watching a soccer match between the football team of my town and the football team of a neighbouring town, several years ago, in the 70s to be precise, a traditional chief from my town, who loved soccer so much, also came there to feed his eyes.

As the match was going on smoothly and peacefully, the chief was busy, at the sideline, dancing and cheering our home team to victory.

At the end of the friendly match, which ended two goals to one, 2-1, in favour of my team, the chief screamed with excitement and danced as if our team had won a special soccer prize.

As we were leaving the venue of the match for our respective homes, the chief asked me some interesting questions.

His questions were: “Why do people wear boots to play football?”  “Don’t the boots slow them down or inconvenience them while playing?”

Here’s is my answer to the chief’s questions.

The major reasons players use boots or cleats to play football are:

1. To improve their ball control, the speed, and balance, during play, and
2. To prevent or minimize the risk of injury.

Football boots or cleats do not inconvenience or slow players down, rather, they help to get the job of playing the ball done well.

However, a first-timer might find wearing football boots strange, but as he or she continues to wear them, he or she would begin to get used to them. 

How did football boots or cleats become part of football? 

Find the answer to this question below.

During the teething stage or the dark age of football, everything about it was unstructured because there was no set of rules in place to regulate how it was played.

Since there was no defined set of rules and regulations, at that time, players were left with no other option but to wear any footwear they could lay their hands on.

That led them into wearing all manners of shoes, including their ankle-high work boots.

Those ankle-high and long-laced work boots of those days were made of thick and hard leather with steel toe caps and metal studs or spikes added to them to give them extra support. 

To further make their work boots have more grip on the ground, most soccer players of that time would hammer metal tacks or studs on the bottom of their shoes.

With the introduction of a set of soccer rules called Laws of the Game, by the International Football Association Board, IFAB, the game of soccer became organised and structured.

It was that intelligent and foresighted organisation and structure that sparked off the development of shoes that were specifically designed for soccer.

The First-Generation Soccer Cleats

A certain school of thought says that the first-ever cleats were discovered in England’s King Henry VIII wardrobe.

According to that school of thought, those cleats were made in 1525 by the King’s personal shoemaker, whose name was given as Cornelius Johnson.

That same school of thought also claimed that those first ankle-high soccer shoes were made of strong leather, which made them much heavier than the normal shoes worn during that era.

The Second-Generation Football Boots

The first-ever football-specific boot, made of thick and heavy leather, was designed in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Just like the boots used to play football when there were no rules and regulations, the second-generation boot still ran high to the ankle, which its makers claimed was for increased protection.

The downside of that boot was that it weighed 500 grams (18 oz), and would double in weight when it was wet.

The Third-Generation Football Boots

The designs of the football boot with the manufacture of lighter and more flexible boots, which were first worn by South Americans marked the beginning of the third generation of soccer cleats.

This happened dramatically after the Second World War.

That lighter and more flexible design was focused on increasing good control and better kicking power rather than a more protective boot.

It was at that time, in 1954, that a German company known then as Adi Dassler, introduced screw-in studs, which gave the German team a tangible advantage during a rain-lashed World Cup of that year.

The Fourth-Generation Football Boots

The fourth generation of soccer cleats took place between the 1960s and 1970s.

That was when many football boots were designed with a lower cut and were designed to be lighter and more flexible, which enabled players to move faster and change direction quicker.

It was also the period that saw many large advances and changes in the football boot design, which included lighter boots and a variety of colours.

Boot sponsorship also became more popular at that time.

Some of the popular manufacturers of soccer cleats, at that time, included Adidas, Mitre, Joma, Asics, and Diadora.

The Fifth-Generation Football Boots

Further advancement of the technological advances of the football boot, between the 1980s and 2000s, saw the coming of Umbro, Lotto, Kelme, Mizuno, Reebok, Uhlsport, and Nike.

New types of soles were introduced to increase the balance of the player.

This was followed by the 21st-century laser technology, which was introduced to produce the first fully customised football boot in 2006.

The first laceless boot, the Lotto Zhero Gravity, by Italian football boot manufacturer, Lotto, was also released in 2006.  

The laceless boots became very popular after Adidas released its own version called the Ace PureControl, also in 2016.

Since then, the development of cleats has developed with the game of soccer and the technology available.

From simple and humble beginnings football boots have come a long way and today find themselves subject to much research, development, sponsorship, and marketing at the heart of a multi-national global industry.

How Cleats Became Part and Parcel of the Game of Soccer. THE END.

By Bright Dafe

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