Why Do Soccer Players Cut Their Socks? 5 Main Reasons
If you have ever seen a professional soccer game live or on TV, you may have noticed that a lot of professional players play with cut-up socks or with holes in their socks. There are various reasons players might cut their socks, and the main one is that they can wear grip socks underneath to improve the comfort of their training gear.
In this blog, I will explain why football players cut their socks in various ways and the advantages of doing so.
Image by Nathan Rogers
Why Do Professional Footballers Cut Their Team Socks?
Professional soccer players sometimes cut their team’s long socks to wear more comfortable socks underneath, usually grip socks. Grip socks, which get their name from their strong grip pads, are designed to stick closely to your foot to minimize how much your foot moves inside the soccer cleats, preventing blisters and other minor foot issues.
Here are some potential benefits of cutting your old socks and wearing a specialized pair of socks:
- Improve comfortability and prevent blisters
- Improve cleat responsiveness
- Reduce foot slippage inside the cleats
- Might help prevent injuries more than regular socks
- You get to choose what type of socks you wear, instead of wearing team socks
Why Do Professional Footballers Cut Holes in Their Socks?
Besides cutting their team socks in half, soccer players also cut holes in the back of their socks for various reasons, such as:
- Improved functionality and comfort
- Relieve pressure around the calf muscles and other lower leg muscles
- Increase blood flow and circulation to the lower limbs
Summary
To summarize, there are many footballers who cut their socks for many good reasons. There are two main ways to cut your socks in soccer: cutting the ankle part, using grip socks with the remaining long part, or cutting holes in the back of the socks to alleviate pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do football players cut holes in their new pair of socks?
Professional soccer players cut holes in the back of their socks for many reasons. Finish reading the rest of this blog to find out why, plus much more.
Which professional football players cut holes in their socks during the Qatar World Cup?
Many England national team players cut holes in their socks to alleviate pressure on their lower leg muscles and to wear better-fitting socks. Manchester City and England player Kyle Walker was the first player to play with holes in his socks during a game against Liverpool back in 2018.
Do shin guards go over or under socks?
Shin guards are meant to be worn under socks, not over them, whether they’re your team socks, grip socks, or any other type of sock.
How to wear shin guards and how they should fit?
There are right ways and wrong ways to wear socks and shin guards. The right way to wear shin guards is to ensure they do their main job: protecting the shins. To do this, the shin guards should be under your socks, about an inch or two above the ankle and about an inch or two below the knee, so they are right in the middle of your shins. You can also keep them in place by using soccer shin guard sleeves.
