Abstract: A football boot (1) has a ball controlling surface which comprises an elasticated frictional surface. Conveniently the elasticated frictional surface may be provided in the form of a plurality of pieces of frictional material (11a, 11b, 11c, . . . ) fixed to an elasticated surface (12). Alternatively the elastic material may be provided between adjacent pieces of frictional material. The surface may equally be provided in the form of a material which inherently has both elasticated and frictional properties. Optionally the ball controlling surface is provided with an additional layer (13) of confined fluid substance located beneath the elasticated surface (12).