On July 23, 2026, footballer Cavan Sullivan stepped onto the pitch wearing adidas’ first fully 3D‑printed football boots during the MLS match between the Philadelphia Union and the New York Red Bulls, marking the first time such boots have ever been used in professional play.
The footwear brand introduced shoes with midsoles made using Carbon DLS technology in 2017.
These shoes are produced as part of Project R.A.P. (Radical Athlete Perception), the footwear brand’s new ecosystem for producing custom 3D‑printed sports gear.
The initiative currently includes 3D‑printed football boots and 3D‑printed basketball shoes. The latter is the BB.01 Additive, a shoe that utilizes a 3D printed lattice that wraps the foot and provides a bespoke future feel to every movement. Priced at $250 a pair, it was launched publicly in a limited release last month.
Nolan Kim, a computational designer at adidas, previously at Carbon, said on LinkedIn that it took two years of continuous work before these shoes hit the ground.
While these 3D printed football boots have been digitally customized for Cavan Sullivan, we may expect adidas to continue creating the best for athletes, at speed.
Image credits: Nolan Kim’s LinkedIn. Credit: adidas.
Source: adidas — Futurecraft 4D, 7 April 2017.
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