Priya Ahluwalia Leads 8 Pink Cleats World Cup Sneakers Roundup
The pink cleats world cup conversation has turned into a full sneaker rollout, with WWD highlighting eight shoes tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The list pulls from past releases and pairs still to come, showing how the tournament is being used as a launch point for fashion-heavy soccer footwear.
Priya Ahluwalia and Puma VS-1
Priya Ahluwalia used Puma’s VS-1 to celebrate African soccer culture, giving the British designer a place in a roundup that leans as much on identity as it does on sport. The model launched last year and folded in elements from two aughts-era Puma boots, then returned in a collaboration that landed on April 22 for $150.
That release sits beside other shoes that were tied to exact drop dates, including Feb. 3, April 1, May 2, May 16, May 21, June 11 and June 12. The spread shows how aggressively brands are timing World Cup products around the summer rather than leaving the tournament to handle them in a single wave.
Adidas, Bape, and Clot
Adidas leaned on its own history by bringing back the starry denim jersey design from the 1994 World Cup through a Bape collaboration and an in-line collection that included a denim Samba. The denim Samba released on Feb. 3 for $100, while the earlier Adidas and Y-3 four-pack of limited-edition boots from the 2006 World Cup had already set a template with different beasts.
Clot took a different route on the Adidas Mundial, swapping in a quilted version of its logo and an espadrille sole unit. That pair arrived on May 2 for $150, a sharp departure from the standard soccer-boot shape and one of the clearest examples in the roundup of fashion details overtaking pure performance language.
Jordan Brand, Nike, and Patta
Brazil will arrive at the World Cup this summer as the first national soccer team to ever wear a kit with Jumpman branding, and only the second team overall after French club Paris Saint Germain. A colorful Air Jordan 3 was made to match the Jordan away kit and released on May 16 for $225, while the brand’s place in the tournament now sits alongside the footwear and apparel built around that pairing.
Nike’s group in the list pushed that idea further. A dimpled and seamless Hypervenom edition with skull and crossbones dropped on May 21 for $150, and seven brands each chose a different classic Nike soccer boot for X2 collections with studs enclosed in a more walkable TPU shell. Palace’s version in that X2 run landed on June 12 for $200.
Patta closed the roundup with Ronaldo’s Mercurial R9, adding Dutch orange accents to represent the Netherlands before its June 11 release at $200. KidSuper and Bape also teamed up on a Sta sneaker colorway for all 48 teams in the World Cup, priced at $325 on June 11, which leaves buyers with a simple choice: pick a nation, or pick the design language that best fits the tournament’s fashion side.
