13-05-2025
Football boots issues 'definitely something I've struggled with' - Rachel Graham on a persistent problem impacting female players
The ongoing fallout from the issue around the wearing of skorts in camogie has resonated far beyond that particular sporting code.
Indeed, Republic of Ireland women's football manager Carla Ward had her say on the matter on Monday when she said that "it's absolutely mental to be even having these conversations in 2025" and that it appeared symptomatic of "an old mentality towards women".
While the skort issue does not impact soccer directly, other issues around sportswear do continue to affect female footballers disproportionately and one of those is in the area of footwear.
Two years ago, European Clubs Association found that more than 80% of female players surveyed endured regular discomfort due to the football boots they were wearing and that is in light of most boots traditionally being designed with male players in mind.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week, Shelbourne midfielder and former Republic of Ireland international Rachel Graham highlighted how she and many of her peers have always struggled with that very issue.
"Definitely growing up, it was never a thing where you would see women's boots and (I) probably just never really thought of it," said the 35-year-old, who provided the pinpoint assist for Shels' winner in their Women's Premier Division victory over Galway United on Saturday.
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"But I always kind of struggled to find boots that are narrow enough for my feet. And because a lot of the boots are made for men's feet, (they) just have naturally wider feet than us.
"And there have been times I've had boots and you're trying to play and you're running and your feet are kind of moving around when in the boot and it's just so uncomfortable."
However, the issue goes beyond comfort and into the potential impact not-fit-for-purpose boots can have in terms of causing serious injuries to female players, Graham added.
"It's not even the comfort of it, it's (for example if) someone comes in and pushes you into the side or like we see all these ACL injuries, if your foot is not stable in your boot, you might twist your knee the wrong way," she said.
"So I know they do have boots in the women's sections on websites, but I don't know if they're definitely specifically designed for women.
"I don't know if it's just they're kind of different colours and stuff like that, but it's definitely an area that I know my team-mates struggle with as well.
"Often players have to buy insoles to kind of get their feet to be more snug within a boot.
"But it's definitely something I've struggled with and I know they've kind of said that recently where it's possibly down to the reasons we see all these ACL injuries a lot.
"For a long time they just said it was our hips and the weight that goes to our knees. But I think there kind of maybe has to be a bit more to it than that.
"And even if that is the case, can we help it somehow and I think if you can get a boot that fits perfectly and it's made for a smaller, narrower women's foot, it'd be a lot more comfortable to play in and you might see a reduction in these ACL injuries.
"We only spoke to Jess Ziu two weeks ago, who's coming back from her second ACL injury and she's one of our most high potential players and we're without her now for nearly two years. So it's a killer."
