Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt

Football and Technology

 

Goalkeeper kit

The special technical features of the clothing and the gloves are described here.

1. The goalkeeper clothing

The goalkeeper is particularly protected by the rules of football. However, rules alone are often not sufficient protection in practice. Special goalkeeper clothing has proved useful to reduce the risk of injury of goalkeepers.

Goalkeeping jerseys have thickly padded elbows and shoulders, and goalkeeping trousers are padded at the hip and knee. The thick padding is intended to reduce the risk of injury associated with the extreme movements of the goalkeeper. They are designed to fit in a way that prevents slipping to the greatest possible extent.

Hip apron for goalkeepers (DE-OS 2824 906).LupeFigure 1: Hip apron for goalkeepers (DE-OS 2824 906).


DE-OS 1955 816 is an example of an anti-slip goalkeeping jersey. The usual padding of goalkeeping trousers or a goalkeeping jersey is described in DE-GM 79 14 614, but the padding is attached to the outside. Formerly, it was customary to attach the padding on the inside of the garments. However, inside padding is exposed to increased wear and tear by sweating and friction.

An unusual type of protection for goalkeepers is the hip apron of DE-OS 28 21 906 (Figure 1). The goalkeeper kit cannot be equipped with massive protective padding in all places since this would compromise flexibility. Some tender spots are mostly unprotected such as the stomach or the kidneys. The use of additional thin, sewn-in absorbers, for example, air cushions will at least slightly reduce the felt impact of the ball (DE 203 06 081 U1). GB 2 402 321 A suggests another type of protective football garment. The goalkeeper jersey includes sewn-in pockets on the chest and abdomen for receiving special protector elements according to the protection profile required.

Relevant Patent Documents
Publication numberYearTitleBrief description
GB 2 402 321 A   2003   Football chest protector   Jersey for goal keepers with pockets to receive protection elements to be chosen according to the desired level of protection 
DE 203 06 081 U1   2003   Bekleidung, insbesondere Sportbekleidung   Goalkeeping jersey with additional thin absorber layers, such as air cushions or foam, for parts of the body formerly not protected  
DE-OS 28 21 906   1979   Hüftenschutz für Torwarte   Apron-type hip protection for goalkeepers closed by ribbons, made of two cushioned pads 
DE-GM 79 14 614   1979   Gepolstertes Kleidungsstück für Sportler, insbesondere Torwarte   Goalkeeping jersey and trousers with outside padding 
DE-OS 19 55 816   1969   Sportoberbekleidungsstück, wie Sportbluse, -pullover od. dgl.   Goalkeeping jersey with strip pulled through at the sides of the jersey, from the cuffs to the waistband, preventing riding up due to tensile stress 

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