BAFANA PLAYERS RECEIVE PERSONALIZED ‘ELITE SERIES’ FOOTBALL BOOTS
Supercharged boots feature national flag and individual personalization for South African footballers
The recent launch of the latest innovative football boots from Nike is still receiving rave reviews, more so from the footballers who will be donning the Nike Elite Series football boots at the football tournament next month.
While it’s all about the innovation and colourway of the boots that players are commenting most about, 19 Nike-sponsored players from the national team received their special edition Nike Elite Series footwear packs featuring personalization of their boots, during a handover on Friday, May 21.
The supercharged Nike Elite Series football boots were individually personalized with the South African flag, and personal lettering and / or numbering.
Following a presentation by Nike’s footwear specialist on the dynamics of the innovation, the players then received their boots with much excitement.
“The addition of the flag on my boots is inspiring and I will wear my Nike Elite Series with pride,” said Moeneeb Josephs, who simply has his name and the number ‘16’ embroidery on the boots. “It was also great to hear about the latest innovations in the boots, and specifically how we as players can use this to perform better.”
Teko Modise, who makes his 50th appearance for the national squad against Bulgaria on Monday, could not contain his excitement either.
“I have my daughter’s name, Pabi, on my boots and I look forward to running out onto the pitch with my new Mercurial SuperFly’s for my 50th game,” said Modise.
The full list of players who received their Nike Elite Series boots include:
Aaron Mokoena
Andile Jali
Anele Ngcongca
Benni McCarthy
Bernard Parker
Bongani Khumalo
Itumeleng Khune
Kagisho Dikgacoi
Katlego Mphela
Lance Davids
Moeneeb Josephs
Reneilwe Letsholonyane
Shu-Aib Walters
Siboniso Gaxa
Siphiwe Tshabalala
Siyabonga Nomvete
Siyabonga Sangweni
Teko Modise
Thanduyise Khuboni
Nike’s Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, CTR360 Maestri, Total90 Laser III and Tiempo Legend III all feature new performance upper to improve on-field visibility and reengineered outsole to deliver lightweight performance for every style of player.
Nike designers have reduced the weight of each boot so players can perform at their best. Lightweight construction, intricate engineering, carbon-enforced strength and high contrast colours distinguish the boots.
The Elite Series is available to players at all levels and also incorporates Nike Football+ which features exclusive insider access to the world’s best coaches, players and teams for total game improvement. Nike Football+ Master Series builds expertise in Control, Accuracy and Speed through elite insights and pro training. This includes a special Elite Series signature move from Atletico Madrid and Argentina star Sergio Aguero that will launch at the end of May.
All four Elite Series boots, the Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, Nike CTR360 Maestri, Nike Total90 Laser III and Nike Tiempo Legend III are available at retail.
NIKE LAUNCHES ‘ELITE SERIES’ FOOTBALL BOOTS
Supercharged boots designed to give footballers an edge and engineered for enhanced on-field visibility
BEAVERTON, Ore. (May 3, 2010) – NIKE unveiled its supercharged Nike Elite Series football boots providing new levels of performance. Nike’s Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, CTR360 Maestri, Total90 Laser III and Tiempo Legend III all feature new performance upper to improve on-field visibility and a reengineered outsole to deliver lightweight performance for every style of player.
Nike designers have reduced the weight of each boot so players can perform at their best. Lightweight construction, intricate engineering, carbon-enforced strength and high contrast colors distinguish the boots.
The high contrast colors (Metallic Mach Purple and Total Orange) are engineered together for enhanced visibility. For a footballer this unique combination is designed to increase visual performance enabling them to quickly spot their teammates and execute a game-changing pass.
“At Nike, we have a relentless focus on product innovation to give athletes a real competitive edge and deliver the best products in the world,” said Andrew Caine, Nike Design Director for Football Footwear. “The Nike Elite Series delivers lightweight and highly engineered boots for the leading players in the world to perform on the biggest stage this summer”.
Lightweight performance and enhanced on-field visibility
Research shows that the average energy expenditure of an elite player is over 1,000 Kilo Calories per game for a 75kg player. Reducing the weight carried by players helps reduce the energy needed over the course of 90 minutes. By delivering lightweight supercharged performance to all four of Nike’s statement level boots the goal is to give players an edge in the final stages of a game.
Super-strong, lightweight carbon fiber plates mean the Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II is 5% lighter. The CTR360 Maestri is 19% lighter. Both the Total90 Laser III and Tiempo Legend III are 16% lighter.
With nearly four years of game analysis, biomechanical studies and player testing the design team and Nike Sports Research Lab (NSRL) collaborated to understand how to deliver new product innovations including incorporating visual performance benefits into boot design.
An average person’s vision is 99% peripheral. Under 1% is considered foveal, or focused vision. To spark increased focus of peripheral vision Nike designers analyzed the color spectrum to identify two, high-contrast colors, so that when a player is running with these boots the colors trigger a stimulus to rapidly tune peripheral vision. Mach Purple and Total Orange provided the perfect blend to create this effect and performance advantage.
The Elite Series is available to players at all levels and also incorporates Nike Football+ which features exclusive insider access to the world’s best coaches, players and teams for total game improvement. Nike Football+ Master Series builds expertise in Control, Accuracy and Speed through elite insights and pro training. This includes a special Elite Series signature move from Atletico Madrid and Argentina star Sergio Aguero that will launch at the end of May.
All four Elite Series boots, the Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, Nike CTR360 Maestri, Nike Total90 Laser III and Nike Tiempo Legend III, are available at retail and at www.nikestore.com as of May 22, 2010.