‘Amplifying confidence’: Story behind stars wearing pink shoes at 2026 World Cup

In the matches played at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico so far, a majority of players have been seen wearing boots in pink or shades of pink, produced by major manufacturers such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance and Skechers. The opening match between South Africa and Mexico saw players like Khuliso Mudau, Nkosinathi Sibisi and Mexican goalscorer Raul Jimenez wearing pink shoes. Since then, various players from teams including Brazil, Belgium, Morocco, Canada and the United States have opted for pink footwear at this World Cup. In Canada’s opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, almost the entire Canadian team, including Jonathan David, was seen wearing pink shoes. USA players such as Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest also donned pink boots earlier during their 4-1 win against Paraguay in their Group D encounter. On Saturday, Brazilian players like Vinicius Junior, Bruno Guimaraes, Raphinha, Gabriel Magalhaes and goalkeeper Alisson Becker wore pink boots in their Group C match against Morocco. Brazil drew the match after a goal from Vinicius Junior, while Ismael Saibari, who was also wearing pink boots, had given Morocco the lead. A senior executive at Nike shared with The Athletic the idea behind the pink shoes and what has led to the colour emerging as the top choice for footballers at this World Cup. “The way we approached it was focusing on what are some of the brightest colours, what are those colours that are really amplifying confidence, and pink is one of those colours,” said Odinga Nimako, a senior executive at Nike’s global football footwear team. “What we always hear from our consumers and athletes is that when you wear a colour like pink, which is so loud and bright, you need to be really good to wear these colours as well. At the same time, there has also been a level of acceptance with pink that makes it not too niche for people. It speaks to a broad audience.” While Brazil have a primarily yellow kit for this World Cup, and teams like South Africa are also playing in yellow, with other kits ranging from red to white, only Belgium have a dash of pink in their away kit. The Red Devils were seen training in their dark red kits with pink shoes at their base in Seattle last week.Story continues below this ad Nimako also spoke about how the colour pink stands out against the kit colours at this FIFA World Cup, as well as its visibility on the green grass of the football pitch. “Our intent was really to make sure that the boot stood out against the kit,” Nimako said. “In every tournament we can take a slightly different approach. We have seen approaches in the past where we actually want to be a little bit more integrated. At this tournament, knowing the magnitude, we really wanted to make it pop. Pink really helps bring it out against the green grass on the pitch, whether you are in the stands or watching on TV, making sure that visibility is there. That is definitely something that we looked at. For this World Cup moment, we really wanted to focus on that visual impact.” FIFA World Cup winner and Argentina star Lionel Messi, however, will be wearing white and light blue Adidas boots with gold accents to match Argentina’s kit at this World Cup. Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo will play in special all gold boots to be released by Nike prior to his team’s opening match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday. “The fact that he is playing his sixth World Cup, we wanted to celebrate the legacy he has set and the way he continues to add to his legacy. And there is no better colour than gold to help do that,” said Nimako.

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