Football boot

Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North American English,^[1] are a type of shoe worn when playing association football (soccer). Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the outsole to aid grip. From simple and humble beginnings football boots have come a long way and today find themselves subject to much research, development, sponsorship and marketing at the heart of a multi-national global industry. Modern "boots" are no longer truly boots in that they do not cover the ankle - like most other types of athletic footwear, their basic design and appearance has converged with that of sneakers since the 1960s.

A variation of the boots are worn for rugby football featuring several key design differences specific to that sport and are therefore known as rugby boots in that context; although boots designed for soccer are often used by rugby players in certain positions.

Although most associated with football and rugby, the shoe is used in other sports that are played on grass surfaces, such as touch, lacrosse, hurling, shinty, quadball and even tug of war.