Reebok Could Return to the Football Pitch in Time for the 2026 World Cup™

Reebok might be best known for its aerobics, tennis, and basketball footwear from the 1980s and '90s, but there's a particular sport with which it made a name for itself that's long been overlooked: football.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™, however, could be the stage that sees the heritage brand return to the pitch.

The last five months have seen speculative mock-ups and rumors make the rounds across social media. Unverified information must always be handled with some caution, but professional footballers have given credence to reports by training in stealthy prototypes of a modern Reebok Sidewinder, the latest being Juventus' Dušan Vlahović.

In comparison to an all-black pair worn by Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah during training, Reebok branding is prominently visible on Vlahović's prototype. The white-and-black pair features the same jagged design lines as the original Sidewinder football boots—a silhouette brought to life with help from Mark Haskins in 1996. Touted as "the first graphic-driven football boot," the model's aforementioned lines were a signature element—so much so that they appeared on a subsequent match ball; other football boots boasted similar elements, creating a through-line to the now-30-year-old design.

As has been the case with the adidas Predator franchise, a modern remake of the original Sidewinder would be momentous for the global sport and any attempt from Reebok to re-enter the performance football space. The brand's launch of Engine A in 2025 signaled an important return to basketball and it's paid off by allowing the company to regain its footing on the hardwood. The prototype Vlahović and Chalobah have been testing out could do the same on the pitch.

In its heyday, Reebok Football was co-signed by the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Ryan Giggs, Raúl González, Andy Cole, and Iván de la Peña. Kits for Liverpool, Atlético Madrid, and the National Teams of Argentina and Colombia also helped cement Reebok in "the beautiful game."

Stay tuned for more details, which are sure to surface ahead of the World Cup™'s mid-June start.

For more football-related footwear, check out Kylian Mbappé's Nike Air Max VII Collection.