3D printing takes first steps into football

As Euro 2016 closes its curtains in Paris, various images of a mysterious whiteout football boot have recently been doing the rounds on social media - it is currently rumoured that the mysterious boots are the first-ever 3D-Printed Football Boot.

The mysterious boot was not created by a brand, but was made by 25-years old former professional footballer Sam Margetts in 2013 as a project in his second semester at the Auckland University of Technology (The boots are called Second Skin Football boots)

The boot uses a similar concept and material to a boil and bite sports mouth guard where you are able to heat the shoes in warm water then, by simply tightening the laces and applying pressure to certain areas of you foot you are able to conform the inside of the boot to meet the exact specifications of your foot."

Using this material means there is no longer any wear-in time required for footballers that suffer from blisters or excessive rubbing from new, stiff boots as the product offers a completely skin tight fit after the shaping process. Another benefit of this material is that, like a mouth guard it is shock absorbent. This means added protection from foot injuries that are a common occurrence in the game today. Other positive features of the material are that it is soft to the touch (increasing ball control), durable, lightweight and waterproof."

While German brand Adidas revealed their first-ever 3D-printed running shoe in October 2015 and Nike unveiled the world's first 3D-printed performance sports bag ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, New Balance announced in November 2015 that they we will be launching the first high performance running shoe with a 3D-printed midsole. Interestingly, the structure of the midsole looks very similar to that one of the whiteout football boot, and with recent Euro 2016 star, Aaron Ramsey already sporting 3 d printed footwear during last years FA cup final, the idea of 3 d printed boots in the game looms closer .......World Cup 2018?

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