Last weekend’s Premier League fixtures and each team’s starting Xl, 9 of the Premier League starting line ups didn’t feature a single good-old-fashioned pair of black boots. Just one pair of black boots on show in the North London Derby, and just one pair of black boots on show in the Manchester Derby, in very contrasting times to the days of watching Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane dominate those rivalries in a classic, no-nonsense football boot.
Southampton were the only side to have four players start their match wearing black boots, with only 5 of the 20 Premier League teams having more than one player donning a classic pair of old school black boots.
The research into every single one of the 520 registered Premier League squad players showed that only 7% of players now wear a black football boot, in stark contrast to bygone days. Just 37 of the 520 players wearing a black boot.
The breakdown of colourways revealed that White is now the most popular colour of boots, ahead of the fluorescent, brightly-coloured yellow and green boots, which make up almost 1 in 3 boots.
Colourway Breakdown
White – 24.9%
Yellow – 16.2%
Green – 16%
Blue – 15.6%
Other – 12.5%
Red – 7.2%
Black – 7.1%
The most popular boot of choice is Nike, with 48.46% of Premier League players sporting a Nike boot.
Brand Breakdown
Nike – 48.46% (252 players)
Adidas – 39.8% (207 players)
Puma – 9.04% (47 players)
Other – 2.69%. (14 players)
There are only 8 brands of boot represented in the Premier League. Other than the big 3, there are 6 players wearing New Balance and 5 players wearing Under Armour. There are only three players in the Premier League with an exclusive boot deal to the Premier League:
Exclusive Premier League Boot Deals
Asmir Begovic – Lotto
Kurt Zouma – Tru Tenaci
Joel Robles – Joma
We spoke to football boot expert Andy McWilliams of OnlineBootroom.com who said;
‘It’s sad to see but the black football boot has unfortunately had its day. The black boot just doesn’t catch the eye of the younger generation, which is why we see that 1 in 3 boots in the Premier League is a bright green or bright yellow. Kids want a pair of bright boots because it’s what Ronaldo or Haaland wear – no brand is going to be putting their massive names in black boots, because they don’t catch kids attention and they simply don’t sell.
Of the boots we sell nowadays, only about 1 In 10 pairs is black and it is almost always a more classic football boot, bought by an older player or someone in an academy that has to abide by a specific boot policy. I think the black boot is now a thing of nostalgia, and boots are going to be bright for the foreseeable future as brands want to keep kids interested in their boots.’
Data provided by Offers.Bet
