Nike Phantom Luna
The Nike Phantom Luna is a football boot manufactured by Nike designed primarily for women. It was developed in response to athletes calling for football boots that would protect women from ACL injuries. Following two years of research on women's style of play and foot shape and consultation with professional female footballers, the boot was released ahead of 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Background[edit]
Women in sports have had to use equipment designed primarily for men, or sometimes children, with equipment that considers the specifications of female bodies unavailable.[1] Men's football boots are designed for a typical male foot shape, meaning they can be uncomfortable or ill-fitting on female feet, which affects the performance of female players. Conventional boots are also designed for the speed, load and movement of men, which differ from those of women. The sub-optimal design has been suggested as one reason why women are more likely to experience injuries. There is already more pressure on the foot when wearing football boots than running shoes, with research saying that it is important to create an optimal boot "to ensure comfort, stabilise the foot, prevent fatigue and optimise both mobility and alignment of the lower limb."[2]
Elite boots are also designed with playing surface in mind to optimise traction, but the "optimal traction ranges have been designed and defined for men".[2] Sub-optimal traction negatively affects performance and is an injury risk factor. Within women's association football, the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is a significant concern, with "increased shoe-surface traction (the boot getting stuck in the surface)" a main mechanism of injury.[2] A survey of 350 female football players from 16 top-tier clubs conducted by Katrine Kryger of St Mary's University, Twickenham, in collaboration with the European Club Association found that 82 percent of female players feel discomfort in their feet while playing.[3]
Prior designs by other manufacturers[edit]
In 2020, there were no major manufacturers producing football boots designed specifically for women, though many began developing boots for women ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. At the time, there was only one manufacturer, independent startup Ida Sports, producing boots specifically for women.[2]
In July 2021, Puma launched a women's-fit boot, with women's fit options for some of its mainline brand boots. There were more calls for boots that consider female bodies and playing needs, not just foot size/shape, in 2022 and 2023 when there were a large number of ACL injuries to high-profile elite women's players, including 25% of the Ballon d'Or Féminin nominees at the same time.[1][2]
Ida Sports' founder, Laura Youngson, also felt that equipment designed for women was important on an emotional and representational level, so that women can go into sports stores and see that they belong.[1]
Development[edit]
Nike designed the Phantom Luna in response to calls by athletes for a football boot that would protect female players from ACL injuries.[4] Over a two-year period, Nike conducted research into female football players' anatomy and injury, and examined the playing style of the professional women's game, discovering that there were more touch passes than in men's football.[5][6]
Description[edit]
Part of Nike's Phantom range, the Phantom Luna is designed with a lower cuff and tighter fit for the female ankle and a higher collar to reduce rotational traction at the knee.[5][1] The boot is available for a range of arch heights, for players with flatter or higher foot arches.[5] Nike's Cyclone 360 technology, developed for the Phantom Luna, uses a circual stud pattern at the forefoot to improve agility.[1][5]
Release[edit]
Nike released the Phantom Luna in June 2023, the first of the manufacturers to release a women's boot before the World Cup in July 2023.[6] The release, five weeks before the tournament, put an increased spotlight on major brands producing equipment designed for women. Though designed for women, the boot is also available for male players.[1][5] Puma subsequently announced that it would conducts its own research into ACL injuries.[3]
Among the professional footballers involved in the design testing process was Crystal Dunn, and it is also endorsed by Debinha and Grace Geyoro.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Downey, Sophie (2023-06-14). "New women's football boots – a big step forward or a marketing ploy?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2023-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Okholm Kryger, Katrine; Thomson, Athol; Tang, Alicia; Brown, Nicola; Bruinvels, Georgie; Rosenbloom, Craig; Carmody, Sean; Williamson, Leah; Datson, Naomi; Jobson, Elena; Mehta, Ritan (2022-11-16). "Ten questions in sports engineering: technology in elite women's football". Sports Engineering. 25 (1): 25. doi:10.1007/s12283-022-00384-3. ISSN 1460-2687. PMC 9667860 Check
|pmc=value (help). Archived from the original on 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2023-07-31. Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Collings, Simon (August 1, 2023). "Tackling the ACL injury crisis that haunts women's football". Evening Standard. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via EBSCOHost.
- ↑ Codinha, Alessandra (August 2023). "Squad Goals". Vogue. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via EBSCOHost.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Nike unveil women's-led football boot Phantom Luna ahead of 2023 Women's World Cup". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Women's football: 82% of pro female footballers say uncomfortable boots affect performance". BBC Newsround. 2023-06-28. Archived from the original on 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2023-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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