Harry Kane is one of the most sought-after players in the world. Widely regarded as one of the best finishers of his generation, the England Captain has been in the news constantly this summer.
The reason for this tabloid presence was mainly because of his high-profile transfer speculation, which finally got some clarity, as he completed his move to the reigning German champions, Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur, in a deal worth around 100 million plus bonuses, making him Bayern Munich’s most expensive signing of all time.
However, he is again in the news, and this time the reason is slightly different. Harry Kane recently shared on Instagram, his lifetime collaboration with Skechers, an American brand founded in 1992 that primarily specialized in lifestyle footwear but slowly ventured into sports.
Although fans are not entirely convinced by the brand, as they have left no stone to make memes about his recent lifelong partnership with Skechers.
Whether it be Instagram or X, the collective feeling among fans is mutual as they see this move as a downgrade for Kane, as his previous partnership was with Nike, one of the most celebrated football boots brands in the world.
But what’s the big deal with Skechers? They are one of the biggest footwear brands in America, so naturally they have the financial muscle and the required logistics to make a football boot that is reliable and up to today’s footballing metric standard.
Secondly, a wealthy footwear brand trying to meddle in sports, especially football, is nothing absurd, as football is the biggest sport in the world, which is heaven for any brand which wants to grow its empire.
The deal is simple, these are football fans, and football fans are usually fixated on what they know, comfortable in their comfort zone. So obviously they are a little cynical about it.
Also, Skechers’ shift towards fashion-forward styles has sometimes led to questions about the longevity of their products in comparison to more specialized athletic brands. So naturally football fans view Skechers as a more casual and comfort-focused brand rather than a high-performance athletic brand.
We need to keep in mind this is not the first sport Skechers are entering, as they have also set foot in the running, tennis, golf, basketball, and fitness industries. Baring golf, all are high mobility sports just like football.
Kane’s version is called SKX_01, a mashup of light and navy blue, and looks good, to be honest. It is yet to be released, but on Skechers official website the price tag is whopping 195 pounds.
“I was blown away by them, I was blown away by the boots and I was really excited to be part of the team, so it’s a new chapter for my boots going forward and I’m excited to see what it brings”, said Kane when about Skechers new boots.
While this might be PR and contract protocols, he isn’t dumb to choose boots that aren’t advanced technologically.
Also, in the world of football, performance is everything, and if Kane scores 25+ goals with it, which he normally does, we might see more players choosing Skechers in the future.