Laura Youngson

Laura Youngson
The Business of Sport

Story:

Laura is the co-founder of Ida Sports and a huge advocate for gender equality. In 2017, Laura led a group of women to the top of Kilimanjaro to play a record-breaking football match with Equal Playing Field and highlight gender inequalities in sport. Laura then 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. Ida Sports then launched their first boot for female players in 2020. Now Ida Sports continue to with innovation, more options, more footwear. They listen to athletes, advocate for more research in the women’s game, and ultimately give players more options when it comes to comfortable, quality, and well-fitting footwear.

Reason for nomination:

It's becoming more evident that female footballers are getting injured because of incorrect footwear. We are seeing more reports of players tearing their ACLs (Beth Mead is a recent example). The work Laura is doing with Ida Sports is so inspirational - she made her first prototype in her kitchen and is dedicated to giving women an equal opportunity in sport!

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