Ep. #21 The Ida Sports Movement to Create Footwear for Female Footballers ft. Laura Youngson & Ben Sandhu

In Ep. #21, hear Laura Youngson & Ben Sandhu, the co-founders of Ida Sports, talk about their journey to create shoes specifically designed for female athletes. 

The story of Ida Sports begins in 2017 when Laura and her team at the Equal Playing Field initiative led a group of women to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to play a record-breaking football match to highlight gender inequalities in sport. During the quest to play the highest altitude football match ever, Laura discovered a common problem facing female players all over the world: their boots were made for men (or kids) and left their feet in pain long after the final whistle blew.

Fast forward, and Laura met Ben - a former professional cricketer - while playing indoor football in Melbourne. Between scoring epic team goals, they would talk about the things they would change around women’s sport including creating a shoe for women. They decided to team up and change the game.

After reading many medical journals and doing their own research on the vast differences between women's and men's feet, Laura and Ben assembled a team of football and footwear professionals to identify what would make the perfect women's boot. The first prototypes were cooked up in Laura’s kitchen and put together with the help of shoemakers in Melbourne. The first prototype is now affectionately known as the “Frankenshoe”.

Fast forward to 2020 and Ida Sports launched their first boot. Global pandemic aside, it was a massive success and the boots garnered 5-star reviews from players all over the globe. Today, Ida Sports footwear can be purchased all over the globe from retailers like soccer.com, and DICK'S Sporting Goods. 

In this episode, hear Laura & Ben tell the whole story behind the idea & creation of Ida Sports and why they are in the business of creating footwear specifically for women athletes. 

Full episode available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.