For junior boots you have two options; the Elite & Pro boots that are almost exact replicas of the adult versions worn by Professional players, only smaller and the cheaper lower level academy and club variations, that look the same but have less technology. Both can be good choices depending on the age & skill of your child.
The feet of the younger generation are growing at a rapid rate, but they often want to lace-up in a pair of boots modelled on the same designs as the world class professionals within the game such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Mo Salah, check out our players page, to see the latest boots being worn by the world’s best players, where you can find them a pair to match.
Rank
Why?
Boot
1. Nike Mercurial Vapor 16 Academy
Synthetic Nikeskin upper brings in its own qualities that kids might actually like more than the knitted Elite and Pro
An economical choice for older kids that might already need some volume from their boots at this point; great for warranty reasons because of that default MG soleplate
If the Puma Future gives you the perfect boot experience and you want to pass that on to your kid, you can do so efficiently with the Pro model as the quality difference from the Ultimate is not significant
The Academy always delivers in retaining the core benefits of its upper, making sure that the cheaper elements happen elsewhere and not impactful to the Tiempo boot experience
No other boot can compare to the adidas Predator in terms of ball grip; this is the option if he wants that additional split-second attachment to the boot for better control
6. Nike Jr. Mercurial Vapor 16 Pro
Comfortable Flyknit upper forms around the feet well, and can somehow stretch out a bit as your child’s feet grow; also has some variation of the Zoom Air unit included
Same as the top ranked Phantom GX, aside from what I feel is an unnecessary sock collar, I’d suggest you save some money & go with those instead
Best Boots For Kids Top 10
This list of top boots showcases the boots in UK5.5 or US6.5 and larger, we do this as many children still have large feet and wear these adult sizes. If you child really is only very young and wears smaller boots, then please jump down to the section where we show the smallest kids sizes, which starts with the Nike Kids Boots.
Besides budget concerns, your kid actually get something in the Academy that he might prefer more than Vapor Elite or Pro. The Nikeskin upper here has been made more pliable to replicate the comfort and close, one-to-one wrap of the knitted material on the flagship mode, but its synthetic setting means that there might just be tad more responsiveness to this takedown boot. Not to mention that the Academy Vapor still has that anatomical shaping, giving an excellent preview of that vaunted Mercurial lockdown.
The multiground tooling goes easy with the traction by replacing some of the studs with conicals. With the increasing number of AG pitches it’s important to have a boot that can be worn on different surfaces. This option comes into play on that regard. Furthermore, resting on heels is made more exciting by the presence of the Zoom Air unit.
Get a bit of a meshed texture on the upper and the mixed ground sole for grass and artificial pitches, all in a boot costing you less than a £100. It’s a good choice if you want a boot that already has some volume, but not necessarily ready to invest yet on those top-end, premium models. It does feel generic relative to the Elite, as it replaces the sticky Gripknit (one of the core feature of the silo) with a simple texturing element.
The Phantom GX is Nike’s top-level control boot within the kid’s football boot collection. Matching the same colourways as worn by the goal-scoring wonders of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, the young attacking players of the game can emulate the goals scored by their favourite players. It’s a good thing that Nike at times do include the Academy in its signature GX releases.
Made for older kids between 8 and 16 years, this Future Pro has FUZIONFIT+ soft upper, with creator zones for touch paired with the lightweight sole. It even replaces some of the blades with conicals to give more credence to its FG/AG label. PWRTAPE on the arch aims to add lockdown without drastically affecting the stretch of the upper. Value-for-money pricing at more than £85, you can already provide 90% of the Future boot experience for the young player at more than 50% price down.
At around £80, these don’t short change in terms of quantity and quality of the super-soft synthetic leather, if you want a leather boot for your child but don’t want to stretch to kangaroo leather, this is a great pair of boots for your money. Out of all the multiground Academy Nike boots, this I think is the most suitable for AG playability because of the conical studs.
A bit pricey when compared to other boots here, but what you get in return is a super grippy football boot that aids dribbling and crossing for better control and accuracy. The famous Predator range has been engineered by adidas to offer increased control and swerve on the ball using its rubber Strikeskin fins, allowing players to dictate play from long range like Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold. What’s cool for kids is that they can get the Predator Elite in either FT (fold-over tongue), laced or laceless variant, the same options available for adults.
It might not have the sticky Gripknit on its surface, but the Flyknit on the Vapor 16 Pro kids is still one of the most premium upper materials you can get as far as kids boots are concerned. It’s sock-like and very gentle on your child’s feet, plus a decent amount of stretch that can give room to some physical growth of his feet in the near future.
What’s also nice is that this Nike Jr Vapor Pro has a Zoom Air unit on the heel to give him a sense of that cushioned underfoot sensation that the adult boots are fully equipped with. So with the said sole technology he can get a good balance of comfort and performance benefit from this Mercurial kids boot.
Fusionskin that is scaled down to kid-friendly sizes for just around £80. adidas is left to appeal those who want wrap their foot with leather, as Nike and Puma have discontinued using the natural material in favour of synthetics that aim to replicate the same benefits. The only thing with the Copa Pure is that he might be left wanting more leather, which in the Fusionskin is limited to the forefoot. It’s a trade-off you and your child might want to evaluate, as Fusionskin on the other hand attempts to increase responsiveness by connecting that leather forefoot to a relatively more solid, textile midfoot.
Provides the same lightweight feel as the top-end Ultra; lightweight on price as well at £85.00, one of the very best children’s options for a speed boot. Puma add a kid-friendly heel pull-tab to assist in putting the boots on. No issue with the mesh upper feeling thin and light, but do take note of the plastic used for the soleplate, as it might cause the boot to feel heavy overall. Traction-wise, those sharp FastTrax studs can only be played on natural soil, despite Puma softening up some of them by incorporating a conical underlay.
Provides the same lightweight feel as the top-end Ultra; lightweight on price as well at £85.00, one of the very best children’s options for a speed boot. Puma add a kid-friendly heel pull-tab to assist in putting the boots on. No issue with the mesh upper feeling thin and light, but do take note of the plastic used for the soleplate, as it might cause the boot to feel heavy overall. Traction-wise, those sharp FastTrax studs can only be played on natural soil, despite Puma softening up some of them by incorporating a conical underlay.
At less than £100, your child can feel like Messi or Salah on the pitch, with these synthetic Fibertouch-based boots that the stars themselves prefer to wear, in child sizes rather than the adult Elite otherwise you are getting a boot that has the same elements as the pros wear. You can also opt for the laceless or laced model, just like in the adult versions. Either way, kids get a no nonsense lightweight speed boot with the F50.
Get our Boot Secrets guide:
Kids boots are available in sizes junior sizes 1 through to 13½, and adult 3.5 to 5.5, if you are not sure on sizing, check our size guide. Nike, adidas & Puma make specific junior boots, that we recommend for children. If your kids have larger feet, you’ll have to shop as if they are an adult, with men’s sizes.
New to the Kids Mercurials is the ‘Easy On’ setup, pull tabs on the heel and tongue make it effortless to put on the Nike speed boots both in the laceless Academy Superfly and laced Vapor Academy for children. These Jr. level boots are very similar. The only noticeable difference is the height of the collar and that the Vapor have laces.
Nike’s Mercurial poses as one of the highest quality boots on the market, packing an ultra-thin upper offering a barefoot feel when touching and striking the ball. Lacing-up in the Superfly or Mercurial allows for younger players to match their heroes.
The Luna/GX 2 is the latest in the Phantom series and is Nike’s most promising control boot for Kids to date. Arguably though, when it comes to the Academy, the lack of Gripknit undermines that control aspect.
The lightest Tiempo to date comes to the kids’ sizes with the Academy model.
The Elite and Pro Nike boots are made for older kids and not all colourways are available in Junior sizes, usually you’ll just find the ones worn by the biggest names on pitch make it to the Jr. models. Nike children boots are categorized into Younger Kids (10.5C-3Y) and Older Kids (3.5Y-7Y). If you are looking for cheap Nike boots, look out for the Academy and Club offerings where are sufficient for most young players.
In 1995 Alan Hansen famously said, “you’ll never win anything with kids” when Manchester United lost their opening game of the season to Aston Villa. Youth team players including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were introduced to the first team, Hansen was proven wrong as United went on to win the league and cup double that season.
What are the differences between adult and child boots?
Because adult boots are made of premium materials, there’s a limit as to how much they could be scaled down in size without losing their performance benefits. Thus even if an adult’s boot and a kid’s boot fall under the same tier, there would always be minor differences in terms of certain parts, build, and shape of the boot. In spite of that, however, the kids boots would more or less give you an idea of the feel of the adult counterpart.
Are girls and boys boots different?
When it comes to girls and smaller female sizes, whilst the shape of a female foot tends to be different than that of a male, when it comes to child’s sizes those differences are not evident enough to mean there is a need for a girls boot at this age.
Older girls will benefit from a specific female fit, but most younger players can just look for the boot they like the look of or those worn by a player that inspires them to influence the decision.
Founder of FootballBoots.co.uk back in 2010, Ian went on to create and host their YouTube channel which now has 1.5million subscribers and over 300 million views, he also hosts their podcast which you can find on Spotify. He regularly plays masters football, coaches girls and boys teams and is President of his local club.
Taking his over fifteen year experience in the football industry, Ian wrote the book: How To Choose Your Boots (find it on Amazon) where he looks to help footballers of all levels find their perfect pair.
>> Get Academy Nike Mercurial Vapor at Nike
>> Get Academy Nike Phantom GX at Nike
>> Get Future Pro Youth from Puma
>> Get Elite Tiempo Legend 10 at Nike
>> Get Pro Nike Jr Mercurial Vapor at Nike
adidas Kids Copa Pure 2 Elite
>> Get Academy Nike Jr Superfly at Nike
>> Get Ultra Pro Youth from Puma
