Puma

Back in August, Neymar Jr. ended a 15-year relationship with Nike to sign a new deal with PUMA that reportedly earns him more than $30 million per year. We saw the first fruits of this relationship back in October with the release of Neymar’s first Puma fashion collection, and a new PUMA KING Platinum boot that featured the PSG forward’s logo subtly forming the legendary Formstrip. 

After five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in eight years, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to wait an unreasonably long time for the next AFCON competition. 

Algeria lifted the title in 2019 with Riyad Mahrez, Ismaël Bennacer and Raïs M'Bolhi shining for the Desert Foxes, but the follow-up tournament in Cameroon — originally slated for June and July of 2021 — has since been pushed back to January of 2022. 

When your internal calendar is largely synced with the footballing one, it’s difficult to wrap your head around the fact that we’re now approaching mid-June. In the fantasy world before COVID-19, we’d see Euro 2020 begin on Friday; in the actual COVID-19 world, we’ll see the Premier League return Wednesday with a pair of fixtures that were originally scheduled for March 11.

WARNING: Classic Football Shirts is really fun to browse but you will go broke. 

Before Puma decided that when it came to Per Mertesacker’s body, nothing should be left to the imagination, jerseys were essentially built for quarantine. Forsaking the modern urban fit for that of a parachute, these were shirts that you could grow into for years and years and years — perfect for the figure you’ve achieved over the last two months.  

Following hot on the heels of the latest releases from adidas ahead of Euro 2020, Puma is now unleashing the latest threads for its stable of competitors at next summer’s competition. Italy, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic have all already guaranteed their places at the European Championship, and these are the away shirts they’ll be wearing.

There’s no real marquee matches in European Championship qualifying over the course of the next week, but after the country’s disastrous attempt to qualify for the last World Cup, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on Italy versus Greece on Oct. 12. 

The 2019-20 South Africa Premier Soccer League (PSL) begins play on Aug. 3 in what’ll be the competition’s 24th season. The defending champions are the Mamelodi Sundowns — the country’s most successful side with nine titles — but they’ll face stern opposition from usual suspects like the Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

South African football is defined by its swagger, most notably in the kasi-influenced style of play that mixes skill, style and showboating to great effect.

While many people scoff at the idea that a cleat impacts a player's game, when it comes to professionals, it's undeniable that there are clear trends in terms of cleat preference. The main factor, in terms of boot preference for professionals, is the material that constitutes the upper portion of the cleat. This article looks at the three main types of material, attempting to understand why certain players favor specific materials, and we'll discuss k-leather vs kangaroo leather.

The Three Main Types Of Cleat Material

#1: Kangaroo Leather (K-Leather)