HERZOGENAURACH, GERMANY-- March 03, 2023 -- Sports company PUMA has redesigned its legendary KING football boot by introducing its new K-BETTER™ technology to deliver exceptional performance without kangaroo leather.

The PUMA KING has been worn by legendary players such as Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Eusébio, Lothar Matthäus and Pelé, who dominated international football for decades. Now the KING is returning to the pitch supercharged with the latest PUMA technology and for the first time ever made with K-BETTER™, a completely new, non-animal based upper material. The upper contains at least 20% recycled material as a step toward a better future.

K-BETTER™ has proven to outperform the previous KING K-Leather in testing for touch, comfort, and durability. PUMA is so convinced by the performance characteristics of K-BETTER™ that it will stop producing football boots with kangaroo leather altogether this year.

“The PUMA KING is PUMA’s most iconic franchise in football and has always stood for using the best materials and the latest in innovation. Over the years we have seen the boot evolve and become ingrained in on pitch and off pitch football culture, from the pitches to the terraces.” said Peter Stappen, Lead Product Line Manager Teamsport Footwear. “The new KING takes the franchise to the next-level and offers a super-soft upper with optimal stretch resistance for ultimate touch and control benefits.”

Apart from the redesigned upper, The KING also features a new lightweight outsole with an external heel counter, KING stability spine and conical studs, so you have as much control over your movements as you do over the ball. The KING includes a lightweight removable sockliner with NanoGrip technology to keep the foot locked in place to minimalize any loss of power when changing direction.

Supercharged for her, the new KING follows on from the FUTURE and ULTRA with a custom women specific fit. The new KING women’s combines the latest KING technology with measurements such as volume and instep height engineered for a woman’s foot.

The new KING will debut on pitch with Granit Xhaka, Ingrid Engen, Nabil Fekir, Lena Lattwein and more.

The new KING debuts in the PUMA KING Supercharge edition, which will be on sale starting March 2nd at PUMA.com, PUMA stores and specialist football retailers.