Spikes made from plastic Outsole made from plastic Inside cleat- Insole made from a type of foam Midsole made from a cushioned material Upper made from leather or synthetic materials

The Purpose of a football cleat is to provide a way for people to keep themselves from slipping on wet or slippery surfaces, be able to make quick starts and stops and change direction quickly.

The three main materials in a football cleat are Leather or synthetic leather, plastic or metal, and types of foam. Leather upper Plastic football spikes

Leather is used for cleats because it is a long lasting durable material that will instead of warring out will actually get better with time. Leather is a water resistant material which is important because you play football in all types of weather and if the material was not water resistant it would wear out very quickly. Synthetic Leather is sometimes used instead because it is a cheaper material to make and has the same properties as natural leather, the only thing is will wear out faster.

Plastic is used fir the spikes and the outer sole of the cleat It is used because it is a cheap and long lasting material It is very weather resistant so it will not wear out quickly Metal is sometimes used instead of plastic because it is stronger and gives the player more traction while running but is more expensive

The different types of foam are Carbon Rubber, Blown Rubber, TPU, PU, and different combinations of those types Carbon Rubber is heavy and durable therefore it wears out more slowly then other materials. Blown Rubber is lightweight but less durable then other materials For TPU and PU different types of materials can be made varying from lightweight to heavy, durable or not so durable and many other things. Any of these foams are used because they are a cushioned material that helps disperse pressure when a player takes a step and helps prevent injury.

Joseph Pipal was credited with inventing mud cleats, which were one of the first forms of the football cleat, in the 1930’s The term cleat was created before people started to manufacture sports shoes. At this time sports players would nail strips of leather to the soles of their ordinary shoes to help with grip Football players have always known that wearing shoes with cleats on them gave them the traction they needed to make quick cuts and stops.

1. URL: Title: Academic dictionaries and encyclopedias, No Author, 10/27/10http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/ Academic dictionaries and encyclopedias 2. URL: Title: Basic Cleats Design, No Author, 10/25/10http:// 3. URL: football-cleats/, Title: Smart Shopping for Football Cleats, No Author, 10/24/10http:// football-cleats/