Personal equipment in football

In the 19th century when football became more popular due to spectatorism increasing footballers who played professionally needed more personal equipment to help them play more efficiently in football such as shin pads, metal studs, and gloves for the goalkeeper.

The shin pads were created and used so as to reduce the amount of injuries that would occur in the sport. In mob football there were multiple injuries every time a game was played due to the lack of rules and equipment to prevent injury. The shin pads were first created from leather and other tough fabrics so as to provide a layer of protection for the shins. They were first introduced into football in 1874 by Sam Weller Widdowson who took the idea from his cricket experience. He realized that that if he cut down the size of the original cricket shin guards then they would be effective as protection when getting tackled. They were made mostly of leather and were hand stitched together, they were also very light and didn't constrict the range of movement. Modern day shin pads are made from more effective materials such as fiber glass, foam rubber, polyurethane etc. These materials are used because they are more sturdy and can take on most impacts that occur on the football pitch.


Metals studs are used fulltime by modern day professional footballers so as to help them increase grip on the football pitch. In the 19th century football boots designs were upgraded when studs were introduced. These studs were not very comfortable and were nailed into the sole of the football boots they would then be filed down to a specific size so then the footballer would be able to move about comfortably. As a result of them being nailed in to the sole of the football boot the players were known to finish playing with bloody feet. Modern day studs are designed so then they can be removed and refastened when playing. Instead of nailing the stud straight into the sole they can be fastened on to specific places on the sole by using a specific sort of spanner.


Goalkeeper gloves are worn to protect goalkeepers hands when saving the ball. Prior to 1970s goalkeeper gloves were not commonly worn hence the high amount of injuries in the matches that occurred in those times. An example of a goalkeeper removing his gloves was in the Portugal vs. England euro match in 2004. The Portuguese keeper Ricardo removed his gloves during the penalty shootout which would determine the winner of the game. Since the goalkeeping glove designs have been improved to make it easier for goalkeepers to save without injuring themselves. Some of these designs stop the fingers from bending back, some specialize
in enhancement of the players ability of grip and also the flexibility of the goalkeeper gloves.