adidas unveiled its latest innovation in performance technology, the CLIMACOOL SYSTEM, designed to provide teams and players with unparalleled cooling solutions at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The system has been engineered to lower core body temperature and improve an athlete’s heat tolerance when playing in the hot and humid conditions expected in several host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.
The CLIMACOOL SYSTEM has three components: a cooling vest, a jacket, and an overshoe. Designed to lower core body temperature, the system’s vest and insulating jacket work in tandem to deliver maximum cooling to the upper body.
The vest, worn over the player’s jersey, contains a specialised gel that is frozen before use. When worn, the gel slowly thaws, transferring cooling properties to the upper body, torso, abdomen, and back to efficiently reduce body temperature.
To prolong the gel’s frozen state, an insulating federation jacket features an airproof construction that serves as a shell for the vest, trapping cold air to nearly double the vest's cooling benefit.
When combined, the vest and jacket can lower core body temperature by as much as 0.5°C and skin temperature by 13°C, keeping players cool as they prepare to take the field.
The system’s cooling overshoe has also been designed to provide a fast and practical solution to overheating and swelling in the feet when placed directly over a player’s boot.
Using a cooling gel, the overshoe can reduce foot temperature by 2°C within 7 minutes, providing a pleasant cooling sensation throughout the body without compromising the foot’s sensitivity or dexterity for critical actions like dribbling, passing, and shooting.
“With temperatures expected to exceed 30°C in cities like Miami, Dallas, and Monterrey, and compounded by humidity in others, this tournament presents athletes with truly unique playing conditions,” said Marc Makowski, Senior Vice President, adidas Innovation.
“Working extensively with clubs like Manchester United, Juventus, and Arsenal, we were able to test and develop a new CLIMACOOL SYSTEM based on direct input from players and their medical staff, that offers measurable benefits to the athlete.”
The development of the CLIMACOOL SYSTEM was a multi-year project, born from technology originally created to help Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team drivers combat extreme heat in the cockpit. This iterative process, driven alongside players at the highest level, led to football-specific features, such as a front-zip on the vest for easy use, ensuring they were tailored to the requirements of football’s highest level of competition.
The CLIMACOOL SYSTEM is the latest in adidas’ World Cup product line-up and reflects the brand's broader commitment to providing only the best for the athlete, and will be provided to all adidas partner federations competing at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
