Best football boots for kids 2024: The latest options from Nike, Adidas and Puma

If your child has outgrown their football boots, worn them into the ground or are simply in desperate need of a new pair, then you're in luck as we've detailed all of the best football boots for kids.

It's essential that children's football boots fit correctly and aren't too battered or bruised, otherwise there could be a detrimental impact on their performance. Fortunately, FFT has been dedicating itself to categorising a range of different boots to make shopping that little bit easier for you. If you're simply looking for the best football boots out right now, be sure to check out our other reviews.

But here you'll find the best football boots specifically for kids looking to take their game to the next level and emerge a world-beater.

With the Nike Phantom GX adult version being one of the standout releases of 2023, it's fair to suggest that the Nike Kids Phantom GX Academy DF FG/MG is one of the best options for a young star in the making. 

Geared towards providing a cleaner striking surface, the Phantom GXs feature a dynamic fit collar that extends into a ghost lace system covering the laces. This also ensures that your child's laces won't come untied during a game, meaning you don't have to get your hands mucky re-doing them midway through a game. Result!

With a multi-ground soleplate featuring on these boots, it'll save you the need to buy multiple pairs for different surfaces. This particular version is suitable - and safe - to wear on both astroturf and grass, with a mixture of chevron and conical studs providing a balance between aggression and stability at all times.

Your child won't have to spend weeks breaking in their new cleats, either, with the Nike Skin material that forms the upper: a super a soft, pliable mesh that offers a good degree of comfort straight out the box.

The Nike Kids Air Zoom Mercurial Superfly 9 Pro is a cleat tailor-made for all those budding Kylian Mbappes out there. The Kids Superfly 9 is super easy for youth players to pull on, with the pull tabs on the dynamic collar and straps on the midfoot removing the hassle of laces. 

Once on, they're extremely lightweight, with Nike’s speed cage lining in the upper means also providing stability and structure to support your child running at full tilt. Nike has also added a football-specific Air Zoom insert into these boots, providing an extra spring to your child's step when pushing off.  

With a mixture of bladed, tristar and conical studs on the soleplate, twisting, turning, cutting at speed and side-to-side movements have been enhanced, too, while there's extra comfort through the cushioned insole. 

There's a wonderful balance between speed and cutting-edge technology in the Mercurial Superfly 9, with a degree of comfort that any parent will want for their child’s boots.

Puma's speed boot answer to the Nike Mercurial and Adidas X, the Ultra Pro is a viable alternative to the more established offerings from the market's main players. And, with the latest Ultra generation another improvement, these boots deserve a shot at being high on you list as a junior option. 

The upper is highly adaptable to foot movements, with Puma's 'Ultraweave' material a thin, light and remarkably stretchy woven fabric. This is the same material that features in their football kits, highlighting the performance aspects of the fabric. On top of that, there's texturing on the upper aimed at improving touch on the ball. 

When looking at the soleplate, Puma has introduced a mixture of chevron and tristar studs to aid traction, while the 'Speedplate' outsole provides good energy return through rigid support. The studs can also be worn on astroturf and grass pitches, with Puma advertising them as FG/AG - though we'd heed caution, due to the aggression of the pattern posing a greater risk on artificial grass. 

Kids football boots are often much more limited in terms of technology than their adult counterparts, but not the Adidas X Crazyfast.1 Kids. Loaded with much of the same cutting-edge design available to the world's best senior players, the Crazyfast still maintains a price point that is still in keeping with other kid's boots on the market. 

Built with Adidas' 'Aerocage' skeleton and super-thin 'Aeropacity' upper, the Crazyfast is extremely lightweight while still providing adequate structure throughout the boot. There's plenty of support, despite the ultra-lightweight feel of these. Plus, the laceless option means that once they're on feet, they're ready to go. 

But if you'd prefer to be lacing your child's feet up for your own peace of mind, then Adidas do of course also offer a laced version of the X Crazyfast.1 These have the exact same fit and feel, boasting all of the same technology but just with laces.

The X Crazyfast does have an aggressive stud pattern, though, meaning I wouldn't recommend wearing them on artificial surfaces - strictly grass only for these. 

How we test soccer cleats

We put each pair through its paces for several sessions across all surfaces to determine their true level of performance across key factors including comfort, stability, fit and feel. This also allows us to balance them against the claims from brands about new features and technology. 

If a brand says that a new aspect of its soleplate means you will be able to push off faster or a new synthetic upper is just as comfortable as leather – we will test to see how accurate this really is.

Each pair is tested by an expert member of the team who lives and breathes football boots, and are therefore able to cut through the marketing minefield and provide simple yet detailed advice for all players regardless of level.

In depth knowledge of the market means that factors that are important to consumers like value for money will always be flagged.

How to choose the best soccer cleats

The football boot market can be a bit of a minefield at the best of times, with an array of options available and brands championing the latest tech that will have you jumping higher, running faster and never miscontrolling a ball ever again. 

Ultimately, your choice should come down to what best suits you and your game. Below are some factors to consider when looking for your next pair...

Leather or synthetic

When trying to work out what pair of football boots suits your child best, the material of the upper is a vitally important factor to consider. There was a time when virtually all boots were made from natural leather, but these materials are slowly being phased out by many brands in favour of synthetic options.

With leather not as common, leather-imitating synthetics have taken precedence in that area. Often lightweight, these still retain a great level of comfort and pliability that leather offers, while still providing the same close-touch to the ball that ultra lightweight synthetic materials do. 

Styling

This is the area where there is perhaps the greatest range with something for everyone. Most brands will offer pairs that are simpler and more traditional in look and also ones that are flashy and colourful. 

Whatever your personality or preference, there are likely many pairs that complement it perfectly.

Soleplate

Soleplates often feature an array of designs and technologies, as brands attempt to produce the most-innovative ways possible to deliver performance. 

‘Speed’ cleats, such as the Nike Mercurial range, feature responsive, aggressive outsoles with high levels of traction, but more traditional pairs, such as the Copa Mundial or the Nike Tiempo, are slightly lower tech and the soleplates concentrate more on comfort under foot than raw speed. 

There is also surface to consider. If you play exclusively on artificial ground then an Artificial Ground (AG) specific soleplate is the best option, whereas if you are playing on turf every week then a Firm Ground (FG) pair is the best bet when it is relatively dry and a Soft Ground (SG) when it is wet or slippery.

Getting the right fit

Getting your child to try on a pair first before buying is something we'd highly recommend, because brands often vary in sizing - what might be perfect in Adidas boots might be too small in an option from Nike.

Ensuring the size is correct is essential, too, because if they're not there's the potential for a negative affect on performance. Too tight and there's potential for causing foot trauma; too loose and blisters might flare up as your child's foot slides around in the boot. 

Plus, foot shape is highly personal. Some boots are especially narrow and unsuitable for players with wide feet, while wider-fitting boots can feel slightly awkward for those with narrow feet. 

This is especially important if considering a pair of laceless boots as the lack of laces means there is very little adaptability – they will either work for your child's feet or they won’t.