In the matches played so far in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, most players have been seen wearing pink or rose-colored boots, such as those produced by major manufacturers. Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance And Sketchers.
The opening match between South Africa and Mexico saw players like Khulisso Mudau, Nkosinathi Sibisi and Mexican goalkeeper Raul Jimenez wearing pink shoes. Since then, players from various teams, including Brazil, Belgium, Morocco, Canada and the United States, have chosen pink footwear at this World Cup.
Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina saw almost the entire Canadian team wearing pink shoes, including Jonathan David. USA players such as Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest wore the pink boots during their 4-1 win over Paraguay in their Group D encounter.
On Saturday, Brazilian players such as Vinicius Junior, Bruno Guimaraes, Rafinha, Gabriel Magalhas and goalkeeper Alisson Becker wore the pink boots in the Group C match against Morocco. Vinicius Junior’s goal kept Brazil level, while pink-booted Ismail Saibari gave Morocco the lead.
Senior executive here Nike shared with Athletic The idea behind pink shoes and the color has emerged as the top choice for footballers in this World Cup.
“The way we approached it was focusing on what are some of the brightest colors, what are the colors that really inspire confidence, and pink is one of those colors,” said Odinga Nimako, senior executive at Nike’s global football footwear team. “We hear from our customers and athletes all the time that when you wear a color like pink, which is so big and bright, you have to be really good to wear it. At the same time, there’s a level of acceptance of pink that doesn’t stand out to people. It speaks to a wider audience.”
Brazil have a predominantly yellow kit for this World Cup and teams like South Africa are also playing in yellow with other kits ranging from red to white, with only Belgium having pink in their away kit. The Red Devils were seen training in their dark red kit with pink shoes at their base in Seattle last week.
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Nimako also talked about how the pink color contrasts with the kit colors at this FIFA World Cup, as well as its visibility on the green grass of the football pitch.
“Our intention was to make sure the boot stood up against the kit,” Nimako said. “Each tournament we can take a slightly different approach. We’ve seen approaches in the past where we’ve really wanted to be a bit more integrated. In this tournament, knowing the magnitude, we really wanted to make it pop. The pink really helps bring it out against the green grass on the pitch, whether you’re in the stands or watching on TV, we’re sure there’s something. Looking at this World Cup moment, we really wanted to focus on that visual impact.
FIFA World Cup winner and Argentina star Lionel Messi, however, will wear white and light blue Adidas boots with gold accents to match Argentina’s kit this World Cup. Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo will play in all gold boots to be issued by Nike ahead of his team’s opening game against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday.
“The fact that he’s playing in his sixth World Cup, we wanted to celebrate the legacy he’s established and the way he’s adding to his legacy. And there’s no better color to do that than gold,” Nimako said.