K-State soccer player partners with cleat company to change women's soccer

MANHATTAN, KS. (KSNT) - K-State's Porter List is using NIL opportunities to change soccer for girls and women.

List partnered with Ida Sports to promote its women's soccer cleats. Popular athletic shoe companies make smaller cleats for women, but don't tailor to the differences in foot structure between women and men. Often, this causes injury or discomfort for female soccer players.

"In high school, for soccer players, a lot of the time they tear their ACLs," List said. "That was a huge thing for me, since a lot of my friends had torn their ACLs. It was really hard to watch them go through that process... Finding out that this cleat company was doing something about looking at the woman's foot and seeing that there was a huge difference, especially in seeing where women bare their weight. So, seeing that they could make a change in the footwear that they wear, that would help prevent more ACLs getting torn."

Women hold their weight in different areas of their feet than men do. They have higher arches, narrower heels and a different toe box shape. Yet, they play with cleats designed for the male foot.

"I think a lot of it has to do with just being OK with what we have, and the truth is, we don't need to be OK," List said. "We can make things better."

Having the proper fit makes breaking cleats in quicker and easier, too.

"By this cleat company happening, we're able to make a stride in women's sports, especially in the soccer game," List said.