Abstract: Sports footwear having a sole studded with a plurality of directional studs, said directional studs being shaped to present a higher resistance to movement through a flowable ground surface in one radial direction of the stud than in the opposite radial direction of the stud, by means of stud conformation including an abrupt drive face, providing a drive side of the stud directed in one direction along a drive line corresponding to the stud's direction of maximum resistance to movement through a flowable medium, and flank regions diverging from the drive line towards respective shoulder regions bordering the drive side, thereby providing a compliant side of the stud directed in the opposite direction along the drive line.