Summary:
-
Watch the 2026 World Cup matches and notice the pink boots before the score.
-
Players from different teams are wearing pink boots made by Adidas, Nike, and Puma.
-
Adidas, Nike, and Puma all released pink packs for the tournament, following a trend prediction made in 2024.
Watch any match at the 2026 World Cup and you’ll notice it before you notice the score. Nearly everyone is wearing pink.
It started in the opening game between Mexico and South Africa, where almost every player on the field was in bright pink boots, according to Yahoo Sports. By the second week, it was everywhere. At South Korea’s training ground in Guadalajara, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported that Lee Kang-in, Oh Hyeon-gyu, and Jens Castrop all trained in pink, in boots made by Adidas, Nike, and Puma. Three rivals, three different shoes, one shade.
For most of World Cup history, the big brands fought to look different. Footy Headlines noted that in past tournaments players wore a scattered mix of neon greens, blues and oranges, with each company chasing its own look. This year Adidas, Nike and Puma all dropped pink packs at once, in nearly the same tone.
The color wasn’t chosen courtside. It was called in 2024. The forecasting firm WGSN predicted “Electric Fuchsia” would be a defining shade of summer 2026, and brands design boots up to two years out, consulting trend forecasters along the way, according to the BBC via Yahoo Sports. The boots you’re seeing now were locked in before a single team qualified.
Nike said it wanted the boot to stand out against the kits, and noted there are no pink jerseys this tournament, according to GiveMeSport.
So the pink wave isn’t a player trend or a fashion accident. It’s three competitors reaching the same decision two years early, then arriving at the same tournament dressed to match.
ADVERTISEMENT
