More Professionals Pick Up Nike Anti-Clog Boots
Update #2: El Clásico is set to feature Anti-Clog boots as well, as the below pictures from Real Madrid's training show. Sergio Ramos is set to wear Nike Tiempo Legend VI Anti-Clog cleats on Saturday.
Update: Bundesliga stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (picture via @Footpack and Jerome Boateng have also received their Nike Anti-Clog boots.
When Nike first unveiled its revolutionary Anti-Clog traction system earlier this year, people's reactions where almost unanimously positive. The only criticisms that could perhaps be heard once dust settled was that it looked odd that Nike didn't make Anti-Clog the default soft ground sole plate option instead of the regular 'SG-Pro' and that its professional athletes didn't use it.
This appears to have changed now, however, as the most recent Nike football boot collection, the Dark Lightning pack, includes Anti-Clog variants as alternatives to SG-Pro from the start, at least for the high-tier models such as the Hypervenom Phantom or Tiempo Legend. With it, professionals from the big leagues, such as Southampton midfielder Oriel Romeu, have started to receive Anti-Clog Nike boots as well and should start to wear them shortly.
It remains to be seen exactly how many players will pick up Nike's Anti-Clog boots from the Dark Lightning pack, but everything indicates that this is a step in the right direction and that Anti-Clog will only get bigger with time. Now if we could just get an Anti-Clog edition of the Mercurial Superfly V. Exciting times ahead, nevertheless.
Share your thoughts in the comments below, and check out our post about how Anti-Clog works compared to standard SG-Pro here.
A Look Back at World Cup Shirt Number Typography
Football kit design account @PaladarNegroWeb has shared an interesting retrospective on the typography used for shirt numbers in recent World Cups. The visual language of football kits is often defined by these details, with fonts becoming instantly recognizable symbols of specific tournaments and eras.
The collage highlights various iconic typefaces worn by national teams on the biggest stage. spanning from the 2006 World Cup to the FIFA World Cup.
This overview is part of an ongoing series by the account exploring the visual elements of football. It serves as a great reminder of how deeply typography impacts the overall aesthetic and legacy of a football shirt.
Morecambe 26-27 Home & Away Kits Released
Morecambe FC have officially launched their new 26-27 home and away kits, produced by Surridge Sports. The club received massive backlash for posting AI images for the launch, and later posted a clearer CAD of the home shirt.
The home shirt features the club's traditional red color palette with black detailing, while the away kit introduces a bold combination of purple and yellow. Both designs incorporate modern elements to provide a fresh look for the upcoming National League North campaign.
The new Surridge Sports Morecambe 2026-27 jerseys are currently available for pre-order through the club's official online store.
Puma Kits Keep Ripping at the 2026 World Cup
Puma is facing significant criticism at the 2026 World Cup as multiple national team jerseys have easily ripped during matches.
Incidents involving players from Czechia, Morocco, Egypt, and Paraguay have highlighted an ongoing durability issue with the brand's latest kits - every torn shirt in the tournament so far belongs to a Puma-sponsored team.
The Puma 2026 World Cup kits incorporate the latest version of PUMA's ULTRAWEAVE “Thermoadapt” technology, which obviously is not tear-resistant enough.
The recurring wardrobe malfunctions have resulted in terrible PR for the German sportswear manufacturer and even prompted the viral resurgence of Xherdan Shaqiri's infamous quote from Euro 2016, where he joked that he hopes Puma does not produce condoms.