To meet the needs of its global football athletes, Nike took the same Air innovation and execution from running on the court to running on the pitch — and not without overcoming obstacles.
One challenge: Constraint. On the court, athletes need to run, jump and cut, and the cushioning from a Air Zoom Unit can stack higher to achieve it — 30mm in the G.T. Hustle 3. But on the pitch, athletes need to be as low as possible to the turf and able to quickly stop and accelerate and cut in any direction on soft ground that absorbs energy. Add on the challenge that, traditionally, footballers viewed a stiff, hard boot as a better-constructed boot; adding cushioning was thought of as literally and figuratively soft.
To devise Air for a footballer, the Nike solution was to store energy in a small package. This meant creating a 4 mm Air Zoom Strobel. In 2022, the Mercurial franchise reintroduced Air Zoom to football with the first football-specific Air unit, and the results were overwhelming. Nike athletes were floored with how they could get such energy back from the pitch. Athletes’ trust in the brand enabled the company to introduce the innovation and see successful adoption.
For Paris this summer, the Nike team set out to unlock how to make its fastest boot even better for its athletes. Fine-tuning its Air innovations, the Nike 2024 Air Zoom Mercurial delivers 10% more energy return than the boot’s predecessor.
Again, the Nike teams pulled it off by optimizing Air. Flex grooves were removed from the Air Zoom Strobel unit and tuned flex zones were added to the underfoot of the 2024 Mercurial. Removing the flex grooves allowed for optimal rebound, while the addition of tuned flex zones in the forefoot was designed to increase the athletes’ engagement with the Air Zoom. Underfoot, the 2024 Mercurial’s plate and stud design were also designed to allow for more engagement with the Air unit in the midfoot while also having that tried-and-true Mercurial traction. Plus, the chevron and blade stud pattern allows athletes to efficiently move in all directions and cut on a dime while quickly moving around the pitch.
Many footballers stress how important it is for their boot to feel like a natural extension of their foot, and that they perform their best when the boot moves with them and not against them. Listening to the athlete, Nike obsessed over making the fit of the 2024 Mercurial as sculpted as possible. The team reduced the upper from five layers of material to three, making the boot softer and lighter. This cut the upper’s thickness by nearly 30%, so it could more easily mold to the athlete’s foot, creating a more natural feel.
Finally, the engineered lining was strategically placed in the boot to ensure ample lockdown where players need it most. And where they don’t need grip and lockdown, Nike introduced AtomKnit — a durable, lightweight yarn commonly used in the brand’s elite track and field spikes. This helps shave weight to keep players even lighter on their feet.