Women’s football: progress to be made in the research and development of equipment

“Although progress has been made in equipment for women’s football players, there are critical gaps in research, development and production.“, notes this study carried out in particular by researcher Katryne Okholm Kriger and in which Leah Williamson, captain of the England team during the last Euro, participated.

The shoes and the balls”continue to be designed by men rather than women“, what “may increase risk of injury from ill-fitting shoes, reduce performance due to proportionally greater effort to kick the ball compared to men“.

In basketball and handball, women play with a smaller ball. On that subject of the soccer ball”studies go back ten years” and “there has not been research on whether female players would prefer to play with the same size ball“, according to this study published in the scientific journal Sport Engineering of Nature.

“Professional players are often required to wear the bras provided by their sponsors, more than those that are optimal for their physique. It can also reduce their performance and create discomfort when running.“, note its authors. They note that during the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo “several Team GB athletes from multiple disciplines wore bespoke bras“.

Incidentally, the study also raises the question of the color of the shorts likely to bother the players when they have their period, “a concern for many players“. This problem was raised by the England team during the last Euro football, who protested having to play with white shorts. And the Manchester City club recently indicated that the shorts of their women’s team will no longer be white from next season.

“Due to a lack of research (with data often extrapolated from men to women), the specific challenges of female professional soccer players are not well enough known.“, concludes this study.