“… As I approached my door from my trip to the post office with great excitement and anticipation, the package in my possession was truly a masterpiece as I discovered immediately I settled down to unravel it.

.. ‘very impressed indeed’ was the first thought that unequivocally splurted out of my mouth, underlining and certifying the undeniable fact that the “Glove Guru” has truly achieved the accolade. An ex-professional Goalkeeper who understands the exact needs of a Goalkeeper as far as combining quality and artistry into a pair of gloves. I gazed in amazement as I pulled out the pair from an equally impressive packaging with the hashtag motto #trustinyourhands, which must be one of the most cleverly underrated ponient message to goalkeepers.

I proceeded to try them on.. a little bit tight at the start but once both pairs where in, an overwhelming feeling of invincibility descended upon me as I imagined myself guarding the goal on practice and match day. Saves after saves, catches after catches were the brilliant sparks of visualized video recordings in my head… only to come round to the fact that I’m a goalkeeping coach! I still have a competitive mentality and decorum but I do get carried away with my imagination and constantly have to remind myself I’m a coach.

“… well this masterpiece deserves a blog” was the next instinctive move and this is my story…

Goalkeeping gloves are one of the most iconic piece in a goalkeepers kit since its inception from the days of Karl Reusch a German and a true pioneer in the sports industry. He initially made and developed winter ski gloves for amateur/professional athletes and then decided together with his son Gebhard and in corporation with the legendary German goalkeeper Sepp Maier to create the first ever goalkeeping gloves. Forty five years later and counting, there has been an emergence of competition as an explosion of different brands flooded the market, with major labels in the sports industry like Adidas, Nike and Puma topping the current market share. Brands like Uhlsport, Sondico, Selsport, Umbro, Sells, HO, Lotto etc are just some of the other brands vying for the market share. In recent years a huge amount of independent brands broke into the market as the art of goalkeeping was on the upsurge and becoming attractive to the younger generation.

Even with this extraordinary rise in the emergence of independent brands, big players like Nike and Adidas continue to dominate the competition thanks to a number of factors such as brand recognition, global advertisements and most importantly sponsorship deals. I will be discussing more sponsorship deals because this I believe has been one of the most successful campaigns for the big brands to dominate the market. Straight to the point, the top professional goalkeepers playing in the top clubs around the world are sponsored almost exclusively by the top brands namely Nike, Adidas and Puma. These sponsorship deals are so astronomical other brands like Reusch, Uhlsport, Umbro, HO and the rest are left to compete on a lower level for the market share. Even further down the food chain are the independent brands in an ironic manner, has created a Football League style division league of the glove market share.

• The Premier Division; consists of Nike, Adidas and Puma
• The Division 1; consist of the likes of Uhlsport, Reusch, Selsport, HO, Sells etc.
• The Division 2; consists of the independent brands

The Premier division will always dominate regardless of what style and quality of products they sell and this is credited to the ever increasing campaigns in sponsorship deals, advertising and brand awareness and longevity. Remember the Premier division consists of Sports Brands with endless resources hence the domination. Brands in Division one has a chance to get promoted but they will have to expand in other ways to be capable of competing in the premier division. On the other hand, Division two independent brands are going to have a rough time getting into the the first division as they must compete against each other for dominance in that division first, before leveraging their status.

Now the reason for my assessment on this issue is all about what the average goalkeeper must have in mind when they decide to purchase a pair/pairs of gloves. What one is looking for in a pair of goalkeeping gloves is :-

1. The quality in design
2. How comfortable are they
3. The grip
4. The durability
5. Value for money

As one might be aware, I didn’t make any reference to brand because its irrelevant in my opinion. A pair of Goalkeeping gloves is only as useful as the person wearing them so regardless of what a top brand might promise you what their gloves can do, it’s down to the bearer to make it happen that’s where the independent brand Kenny Arthur of Kaliaaer goalkeeping coined the phrase “Trust in your hands” as a perfect flagship to represent the brand. The message is so significant because that sets the deference between leveraging or stagnating a brand. Of all the 5 criteria mentioned above, the independent brands aren’t far off in comparison from the Division one and The Premier division and in many cases the independent brands are far superior in quality and value for money. I will be unapologetic and uncompromising about this statement I’m about to make.. why would I spend as much as £200 for a pair of gloves at I could get for a quarter of the price, of the same or better quality and superior durability? What one is paying for is the “privilege” of wearing the brand. The gloves hasn’t got automatic sensors or mechanics to position the goalkeeper the correct way and make the save or catch the ball! There is so much value in paying for and independent branded gloves that are highly competitive in their league when it comes down to quality design, comfortability, grip, durability and cost.

ONE Glove, HEDERA, Onesport, MD-PRO, Renegade GK, S1, keepersport, Storelli, Stanno and many more independent brands are in competition and mostly offering value for the price one pays. I really do believe that in the future the independent brands will claim autonomy exclusively as the number one leaders in providing the best high quality designed gloves and products in the goalkeeping industry if the current system continues. The walls will fall down and the divisions will unite as one, paving the way for the “big sports brands” to give up disproportionate equity in the market share ecosystem.

Well as for my KA19-XT-SHADOW.. it’s time to showcase the quality…

BOOM!

You Are The Ultimate Keeper of Your Destiny… ULTIMATE KEEPER