IDA Sports Honored as Front Office Sports 2025 Most Innovative Award Winner
IDA one of four global brands honored by FOS and Sports Innovation Lab
NEW YORK (Aug. 26, 2025) — IDA Sports, a woman founded and led company that designs cleats exclusively for women athletes, has been named a 2025 Most Innovative Brand by Front Office Sports. The Most Innovative Awards, in partnership with Sports Innovation Lab, recognizes trailblazing brands transforming how athletes and fans experience, embrace, and advance sports culture worldwide.
“I want to thank Front Office Sports and Sport Innovation Lab for this recognition. Since day one, our mission has always been to support the female athlete by offering a product that is built for women’s biomechanics, by women who are driving the sports science behind it,” said Laura Youngson, IDA Sports co-founder and CEO. “This year has truly been one of the most impactful years since our founding, with more products and projects than ever before, and I am continuously proud of the work we are doing to provide comfort, support, and more footwear choices to players at every level.”
Since 2018, IDA Sports has been dedicated to the goal of reducing an industry inequity in sporting apparel by designing cleats that address the biomechanical needs of women athletes. IDA cleats are built around the unique foot morphologies of female athletes, backed by extensive research and design that includes foot scanning, data collection and real-life feedback from professional and amateur athletes.
IDA’s signature WMNSFIT technology is based on their custom female specific shoe last, which features a wider toe box, higher arch support, a narrower heel cup and a custom stud configuration to address the anatomical differences of the female athlete. The result is a cleat engineered to deliver the perfect fit, superior comfort, and game-changing performance.
In the last year, IDA has released numerous new, bespoke products, highlighted by July’s launch of the IDA Helia Pro - a three-year development project that became the company’s first-ever professional-level cleat. Helia, which also comes in Elite and Club models, is a speed-first shoe that is offered for both Firm Ground (FG) and Soft Ground (SG) surfaces, with the latter becoming the world’s first-ever women’s-specific soft-ground cleat.
This year, IDA also introduced GRLSFIT, the brand’s first youth cleat. The new product, paired with the launch of Helia, allowed IDA to complete the product pipeline, now offering a cleat option for every level of the female players’ career: from youth to club to professional.
IDA has also expanded its global and industry reach through strategic collaborations, including recent partnership with the USL Player Association, Women’s Elite Rugby and Guinness, which included the limited-edition IDA x Guinness “Never Settle” boot. The company has also welcomed additional investors over the last year, including a $2 million investment led by Michele Kang-founded Kynisca with participation from Elysian Park Ventures, Firebird Impact and Tipt Ventures.
IDA has also added or expanded partnerships with players on its Athlete Roster, including Washington Spirit players Courtney Brown and Kaylie Collins, Chicago Red Stars’ Sam Cary Angel, as well as international rugby players competing in the Six Nations Championship, Women’s Rugby World Cup, and Premiership Women's Rugby, providing greater product accessibility to professional players across multiple sports.
Earlier this summer, Youngson, with the support of Mastercard, Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate, founded A Style of Our Own (SOOO) - an immersive pop-up store that features over 20 women-founded and women-focused brands. SOOO, located on London’s historic Regent Street, will also host over 200 community-building events such as educational speakers, workshops and organized runs.
The complete list of Most Innovative honorees can be found here.