The Difference Between Men's & Women's Soccer Shoes

Since 1995, women have been able to buy soccer shoes specifically designed for them. Even if you play soccer yourself, you may not be aware of the extent of the differences between men's and women's shoes. Women's soccer shoes are not just a matter of the same shoe with a different size number printed on a label inside the toe flap and with a girlie color. Leading manufacturers of soccer shoes do not just "shrink it and pink it," as marketing analysts describe poorly executed attempts to reach female buyers.

  1. Inferior Product

    • Prior to the mid-1990s, a "women's shoe" in soccer, if it was available at all, "typically meant an inferior product," writes marketing professor Bill Dodds in "Managing Customer Value." While running and fitness shoes came in models to fit women's feet, companies that sold team sports shoes just slapped a woman's size 9 on a men's size 7 or just sold the men's model, he writes.

    Mia Hamm's Shoe

    • The two giants of soccer footwear, traditional industry leader adidas, based in Germany, and U.S.-based challenger Nike changed this picture, beginning with Adidas's introduction of the first woman's shoe in 1995. In 1999, Nike visited famed star Mia Hamm at her Florida home to overhaul its approach to women's shoes. The resulting Air Zoom M9, named after Mia and her jersey number, added more cushioning and lighter synthetic material instead of kangaroo leather.

    Product Research

    • The Air Zoom M9 also reflected anatomical differences between men and women's feet. Nike's research labs, based in Beaverton, Oregon, found that Nike's women's lines featured a C width in the forefoot and a narrower B width in the heel, BusinessWeek reported. But laser scans of the bottoms of hundreds of feet showed that women's feet aren't just narrower, they taper to the heel much more sharply, to a size AAA for many. The shoemaker also discovered higher arches in women and added an insert for better support. Its production line uses a different "last," or form, to make women's shoes, making it narrower and more sharply tapering from the ball of the foot to the heel.

    Model Range

    • As of 2011, adidas lists 30 outdoor shoes for women on its site, and Nike at least 14. Leading online purveyor of soccer gear Eurosport, based in North Carolina, lists 52 outdoor shoes specifically for women, including as well models by Puma, Diadora, Footie and Fila. In fact, men with narrow feet may prefer women's soccer shoes for a better fit or for the feel of an ultra-lightweight shoe.