Doha: Aspetar has recently released an article published on its Sports Medicine Journal on what football boot is best for someone’s playing the sports. It is written by Athol Thomson, John William Wannop and Katrine Okholm Kryger.
Thomson is a Podiatrist and Research Scientist at Aspetar, while Wannop is a Professor at Human Performance Lab, Faculty of Kinesiology at University of Calgary, and Kryher is Lecturer in Sports Rehabilitation at St Mary’s University, UEFA Fitness4Football Advisory Board member, and a Research member of Setting the future research agenda for the health and performance of Women’s football: A FIFA global initiative.
They said that modern football boots are the equivalent of a swiss army knife in the sports equipment stakes. “Player motives for selecting boots are likely more complex (e.g., Foot shape/comfort, injury history, climatic conditions, artificial vs hybrid reinforced grass vs natural grass) and contextual (e.g., world cup final vs pre-season sponsor event, brand sponsorship, favourite colour, and superstitions).”
The article is aimed to highlight some pillars of boot selection which include foot shape and fit, matching the stud/cleat to the playing surface and climate, women and youth player considerations, and bending stiffness.
Among the basic tips they provided include choose a football boot that best mirrors your own unique foot shape, comfort is your number one indicator of this; try on multiple brands or models to see what ‘feels’ most comfortable to you; there should not be an uncomfortable “wearing-in’ period; look for multiple short, small, round studs such as an Artificial Ground (AG) outsole if returning from injuries like fifth metatarsal fracture, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, ankle syndesmosis injury and others.
Also, match shoe outsole group to surface type (AG for artificial pitch, SG for soft/wet pitch etc); and youth players should consider good heel counter support and heel contours due to high prevalence of heel pain, among others. The article entitled “Hey Coach/Doctor/Physio/ Podiatrist/Dad/Mum: What Football Boot Is Best For Me”?” can be accessed through Aspetar’s website.
