Back in 2018, Laura Youngson had an idea for a women’s soccer footwear company that was born out of an ongoing frustration. Youngson, an avid soccer player, couldn’t understand why the only cleats that she could find to fit her were boys soccer cleats. “I love playing, but I always had to wear kids shoes and I’m an adult female,” said Youngson. “I thought it was crazy that I couldn’t get a female-specific shoe. There weren’t soccer cleats on the market that were for women.”

From there, IDA Sports was born, as Youngson went on to co-found the only footwear company that was designing soccer cleats tailored specifically to meet the needs of female players. After extensive market research, consumer input, and conversations with scientists and podiatrists to pull together a body of research focused on women’s feet, IDA went to market.

“When I started, there was very limited research in the space,” said Youngson. “We spoke with over 2,000 podiatrists, physiotherapists, and players to understand their pain points. We developed our own sports sciences and research pushing the boundaries around what we know about women’s feet and we’ve taken everything that we’ve learned and put it into a shoe.”

Originally, IDA launched with products specifically designed for adult women athletes, but fast forward, and IDA just expanded its offerings to include cleats specifically for girls. The brand’s new youth cleat, called GRLSFIT, is the first-ever cleat of its kind, ensuring that women and girls of all ages are equipped with proper footwear when they hit the soccer field.

Built For Female Athletes, Backed By Science

The team at IDA prides itself on the brand’s bespoke, science-backed footwear designs. IDA’s key market differentiator is that their footwear is based on the unique biological needs of the female athlete.

“Researching the science behind it, men & women have fundamentally different feet. Why is it that we have different feet but we’re being told we have to wear men’s cleats?” said Youngson. “Like all of our products, GRLSFIT is backed by sports science to create a cleat that strives for increased comfort, performance, and injury prevention.”

The team at IDA found that girls’ feet can start to change as early as eight years old. GRLSFIT aims to accommodate youth players with features like a wider toe box to better accommodate a growing foot, a custom stud configuration to better support female biomechanics, and additional support and cushioning on both the heel and insole for growing bones. Unique to IDA, GRLSFIT was designed using a girls-specific form used to shape the shoe (called a ‘last’), instead of a standard, unisex mold. Because of this, IDA’s size range for the new GRLSFIT youth cleats is able to span from 2.5G (1Y Unisex) to 4.5G (3Y Unisex).

“We designed IDA’s girls-specific fit utilizing data from foot scanning, fit testing, and wear testing,” said Emelia Funnell, IDA’s Head of Research. “We believe that this new product offering will help girls transition into a women’s specific fit as they grow into themselves and the game.”

Serving Athletes At Every Level

In line with the IDA brand ethos of creating products for both “weekend warriors” and elite athletes, IDA’s GRLSFIT line will include two youth styles: the “Travel” style for travel and recreational players, and the “NextGen” style for “soccer-obsessed players with dreams of competing at the highest level.”

“What has been interesting is up until now–in the same way that women have been treated as an afterthought–I think girls have been the same,” said Youngson. “We’ve been excited talking about these girls who are the future soccer players, and GRLSFIT takes into account all the things that work for them which just hasn’t happened before in the sports space. I’m excited to see how the cleats resonate with the players who have been waiting for this.”

GRLSFIT footwear is available now through the IDA Sports website, also are available through IDA’s retail partners, including DICK’S Sporting Goods.