Kids Football Boots Buying Guide

The wrong kids' football boots usually show themselves pretty quickly. Toes jammed into the front, a heel moving every time they run, studs that feel horrible on the pitch and a parent on the touchline already wondering whether the box is still in the car.

The child wearing them may have done rather less research. They know the colourway, who wears them and why the other pair you found is apparently impossible to play football in.

Both sides get a say, but there is a sensible order to this. Start with the surface, get the fit right and work out what sort of boot they actually like wearing. Then decide how much it makes sense to spend. Once all of that is sorted, they can go back to campaigning for the pink pair.

Kids Football Boots: The Quick Guide

Choose The Pitch Before The Boot

Before Mercurial versus F50 turns into a family debate, find out where the football actually happens. The soleplate underneath the boot has far more influence on comfort and grip than the logo on the side.

Kids' firm ground football boots are for natural grass when the ground is firm but still has some give. If most weekend football happens on a normal grass pitch, FG is usually where to start.

Regular 3G or 4G football calls for kids' artificial grass boots. AG plates tend to spread pressure across more studs and are built around the firmer resistance of synthetic turf. If they train twice a week on 3G, buying the FG version because their favourite player wears it on television is solving the wrong problem.

Soft ground boots are for genuinely wet natural grass where longer studs can get into the ground. They have a job once winter pitches turn properly muddy. That job does not include 3G or rock-hard summer grass.

Older astro and hard, shallow artificial turf normally suit TF trainers with lots of small rubber lugs, while indoor football needs a flat IN or IC sole. MG can be handy when one pair needs to cover firm grass and certain artificial surfaces, but check the individual boot rather than assuming every MG soleplate works everywhere.

If the abbreviations have started to look like an eye test, our Football Boot Ground Type Guide goes into FG, AG, MG, SG and turf properly.

How Should Kids Football Boots Fit?

This is where buying junior boots gets awkward. Kids grow quickly, so buying loads of spare room feels sensible. On a football pitch it usually isn't.

Measure both feet, preferably later in the day, and do it in the football socks they normally wear. Use the bigger foot as your starting point and check the size guide for the actual brand. Football boot shapes vary enough that a UK 4 in one silo can feel quite different from a UK 4 in another.

Once the boots arrive, try them indoors with the tags still on. The heel should stay down, the middle of the foot should feel secure and the toes should have a little breathing room without the foot sliding backwards and forwards. You are looking for snug, not crushed.

A big gap at the front may buy some theoretical growing time, but it also gives the foot somewhere to move when they sprint, stop and turn. That normally means rubbing and poorer lockdown. Football boots are meant to fit closer than school shoes.

Foot shape matters as much as length. Mercurial and Ultra tend to appeal to players who like a closer speed-boot fit. F50 can feel slightly more accommodating depending on the model, while Future, Tiempo, Copa and plenty of Mizuno options move towards a softer or more forgiving feel. A winger does not automatically need a narrow speed boot just because the marketing department says so.

Laces, Laceless And Collars

Laces remain the easiest option when you want control over the fit. You can tighten the middle, leave more room over the instep and make small adjustments as the boot settles.

Laceless boots can be brilliant for kids who hate tying laces or simply prefer the clean feel across the top of the foot. The catch is that the boot has to fit well already. A loose heel or roomy midfoot is much harder to fix when there are no laces to pull everything together.

High collars and low collars are mostly about preference. A knitted collar can make the boot feel more enclosed around the ankle, while a low-cut shape gives a little more freedom in that area. Do not rely on the collar to fix poor lockdown. If the heel is moving around inside the boot, another inch of knit above it is not solving much.

There is also the very practical junior test: can they put the boots on themselves? Some laceless openings and higher collars can be surprisingly stubborn. A boot that looks perfect loses a little appeal when the rest of the team is halfway through the warm-up and one foot is still stuck in the entrance.

What Type Of Football Boot Will Suit Them?

Position is a fairly poor way to choose. Plenty of defenders wear Mercurials, plenty of wingers prefer Predators and children change positions every other week anyway.

Think about feel instead. Nike Mercurial, adidas F50, PUMA Ultra and New Balance Furon sit towards the lighter, thinner end. They generally put less material between the foot and ball and suit players who enjoy a close boot.

adidas Predator, Nike Phantom and PUMA Future add more texture, grip or structure through the upper. They can feel more planted through turns and give the player a different sensation on the ball.

Tiempo, Copa and Mizuno's softer options are worth looking at when comfort is winning the argument. There is no prize for getting an eight-year-old through a painful break-in period just because the boot looks quick.

The useful question is not "what position do they play?" Ask what they liked or disliked about the last pair. Too tight? Too stiff? Heel moving? Loved how thin they felt? Those answers get you much closer to the next boot.

How Much Should You Spend On Kids Football Boots?

The price ladder gets confusing because every brand names its tiers differently.

Nike's junior boots currently run through Pro, Academy and Club, with Elite reserved for adult sizing. adidas uses tiers such as Elite, Pro, League and Club across its junior ranges, while PUMA uses levels including Pro, Match and Play. Other brands have their own versions of the same idea.

For a beginner or somebody playing occasionally, an entry-level Club or Play boot can be absolutely fine. The materials are simpler and the soleplate may not feel as sharp, but correct fit and the right surface still matter far more.

League, Academy, Match and similar mid-tier boots are where a lot of parents should be looking. They keep much of the shape and character of the expensive version without asking you to pay top-tier money for feet that may be a different size by February.

Pro and junior Elite models make more sense for committed players training and playing several times a week, especially once they already know what sort of fit and feel they like.

A £60 pair with the right soleplate and a good fit will do a far better job than a £140 pair bought a size too big for the wrong pitch.

Do They Need More Than One Pair?

If matches and training happen on the same surface, probably not. One decent pair can happily do both.

The problem is the classic junior-football week where training is on 3G, Saturday is on grass and school suddenly announces football on old astro. No single soleplate is brilliant at all three.

Two sensibly priced pairs can be the smarter buy in that situation. An AG or MG boot for regular football plus a cheaper TF trainer for astro may get far more use than spending the whole budget on one premium boot and forcing it onto every surface.

Keep Checking The Fit

Do not wait for them to tell you the boots are too small. That announcement sometimes arrives several matches after the toes first noticed.

Check every few months and after obvious growth spurts. Toes pressing into the end, new rubbing, pressure through the sides or suddenly struggling to get the boot on are all signs to measure again.

Have a look at the boots while you are there. Worn studs, splitting around the soleplate or a damaged heel lining can mean the pair has reached the end even if the size is still fine. Wearing the right soleplate on the right surface and cleaning off the worst of the mud will help them last longer. Leaving Saturday's pitch attached until Thursday training is less effective.

And Yes, Let Them Care About The Colour

Fit, surface and budget are the sensible bits. Colourways and favourite players are part of why kids care about football boots in the first place.

The bright F50, the Mercurials they saw on TV or the Predators their favourite player wears can make a new pair feel special before they have even kicked a ball. There is nothing wrong with that once the practical stuff has been sorted.

Give them a shortlist of boots that fit the foot, pitch and budget, then let them choose from there. Everyone wins, or at least nobody has to spend the drive home explaining why black was the more practical option.

Which Kids Football Boots Should You Buy?

Start with the surface they play on most, then measure both feet and find a boot shape that holds the heel securely without crushing the forefoot. From there, choose the feel they enjoy and spend according to how often they actually play.

For plenty of junior players, a good mid-tier boot on the correct soleplate is the sweet spot. Check the fit again during the season, because growing feet can make a perfectly chosen pair wrong surprisingly quickly.

Then colourway.

They've been waiting patiently enough.

Browse kids' football boots at Pro:Direct Soccer by size, brand and surface, including firm ground, artificial grass, soft ground, turf and indoor junior football boots.