"Our commitment to women's
football goes beyond the pitch."
PUMA Invests in ACL Research Study with the Goal to Enhance Women's Fit Footwear
July 25, 2023PUMA Invests in ACL Research Study with the Goal to Enhance Women's Fit Footwear
July 25, 2023As we are celebrating this summer’s Women’s World Cup, our commitment to the future of women’s football takes centre stage. PUMA took to Cockatoo Island to put our commitment on the forefront with our very own PUMA pitch. At the pitch, we recognise the trailblazing women from Australia and New Zealand’s first women’s national teams from 1975, took a select group of next gen players to a special edition of our Accelerator Program and announced our research program to explore ACL injuries in women’s football and improve our women-specific fit’s.
For the opening weekend of the Women’s World Cup, we hosted a special edition of PUMA’s Accelerator Program, bringing together a select group of next-generation players on Cockatoo Island, Sydney. The initiative’s goal is to honour the legacy of ground-breaking players from the 1975 Asia Cup and fast-track the careers of aspiring female athletes. Aside from celebrating the OG teams of New Zealand and Australia, and iconic rematch, and supporting the next generation of female athletes, we used the event to share our commitment to exploring ACL injuries in women’s football through research studies.
⚽️ Read more about the trail blazing OG women who paved the way for women’s football in Oceania and finally received the fanfare they deserved here.
Focus on female footballers’ health and safety
Female players are known to be between 2-10 times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than their male counterparts. PUMA has a proud history of more than four decades in women’s football and we understand the specific needs of women in sports. We were the first brand to offer football boots with a women-specific fit across all of our silos – FUTURE, ULTRA, and KING – our women’s specific fit has been adopted by over 90% of all PUMA-sponsored professional female players.
“Research into the anatomy of the male and female foot, combined with cross comparison fit testing, formed the basis to develop our women-specific football boots. Based on our findings we developed the women’s fit boots with a lower instep, along with reduced volume in the midfoot and the forefoot to create a better fitting boot for female athletes, creating a boot that is more tailored to the anatomical shape of the female foot.”
To underline our commitment to providing the best possible equipment for our female athletes, we announced our investment in a research study that will further explore ACL injuries in women’s football. The research aims to delve into the injuries’ complex dynamics and to develop an effective training program to reduce the risk for female athletes and improve PUMA’s women-specific football boots. The ongoing research will help to continuously improve football boot offerings for athletes and will be designed with consideration for the unique risk factors identified in ACL injuries in women’s football. We aim to transform these findings into practical solutions through testing and validation in collaboration with partners (clubs and players).
"PUMA's commitment to women's football goes beyond the pitch. We're are investing in a comprehensive research study with our partners into ACL injuries in women's football, aiming to understand the risks, develop training programs, and enhance our women's fit football boots. We're dedicated to nurturing athletes, driving innovation, and ensuring player health and safety. The findings of the research will continue to influence our product moving forward and will support the objective with our PUMA partners in helping to reduce the risk of ACL injuries in the women’s game. As a brand PUMA exists to promote equality, identify challenges and work together with our partners to reduce barriers to women playing sport.”
The research announcement took place on Friday, during a special panel talk at the newly opened PUMA pitch on Cockatoo Island. The panel featured:
⚽️ PUMA’s Chief Product Officer Maria Valdes
⚽️ PUMA’s Senior Product Line Manager for women’s football boots Stephanie Vieira
⚽️ Former Captain of the NZ women’s football team and Champions League winner Bex Smith
⚽️ Harry Raddick from Man City Women’s FC
⚽️ Professor Clare Hanlon of the Institute of Health and Sport at Victoria University.
Watch the panel highlights in the video below 🎬!
🎽🩳 Clare was also involved in our published insights on the impact of sports uniforms on girls’ participation in sport, igniting conversations around inclusive and insight-driven designs.
