In a new four year partnership, Mitre will supply all SPL teams with their own unique version of the advanced Mitre Tensile Football, as well as replica and mini versions for fans, available exclusively from ACA Sports.

Gary Hibbert, Managing Director of Mitre, said, “We’re looking forward to further success with the SPL over the next four years and with the additional partnership with ACA Sports meaning fans can buy replicas of their club’s footballs – this only enhances our offering to fans.”

ACA Sports Managing Director, Alistair Cameron is also pleased with the new partnership, “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the SPL and Mitre. This landmark deal will allow every fan in the SPL the oppurtunity to buy their clubs match and replica balls for the first time in the league’s history – something we are all very excited about.”

The SPL Mitre Shop is now live, with footballs for all clubs available on Pre-Order ahead of their September release.

Paul Thomson from Stockport has won a training session with former Wales International Robbie Savage. We’re sure his team will now go on to romp their league! Well Done Paul and Thank you to everyone who entered!

The Competition…

This is a chance for your football team to enjoy a training session with our Brand Ambassador Robbie Savage!

As one of the Premierships most capped players, with over 600 starts, Sav is sure to be able to pass on some good, and perhaps some not so good, advice and plenty of banter from over the years in a professional career which started in 1993 with Manchester United, and includes spells at Crewe, Leicester, Birmingham, Blackburn, Derby and of course his 39 caps playing for Wales.

How to enter the Robbie Savage Training Session Prize Draw.

To be entered into the prize draw for this fantastic prize, order your teams next full kit from our range of Team Kit Super Deals between 5th May 2011 and 30th June 2011. On July 1st we will pick a winner and contact the teams representative to arrange what will be a fantastic day for some lucky football fans.

We have a fantastic selection of Team Kit Super Deals which save teams on printing, a team kit bag and offer huge discounts on the kits themselves. The range includes team kits from Adidas, Nike, Prostar, Stanno, Hummel and Puma in a great choice of classic or modern designs and colourways.

Terms and Conditions

1. Orders placed between 5th may 2011 and 30th June 2011 will be counted only.

2. Cancelled orders will be removed from the draw.

3. The draw to pick a winner will take place on July 1st 2011, and will use random.org to ensure the result is indeed random.

4. Once picked, the winning customer will be contacted with available dates for the Robbie Savage Training Session.

5. The prize is not exchangeable.

In the football boot specials ACA Sports have a wide selection of boots priced at £100, £80 and £50, including the Nike Mercurial Superfly II CR7 priced at £100, that is a saving of £175! Other boots at the £100 mark are the the super light Adidas F50 Adizero football boots, worn by Leo Messi.

At the £80 price range, the popular Adidas Predator X in both firm ground and soft ground models, a saving of £70, also available are the white and blue splash Adidas Adipure IV.

The Nike Mercurial Vapor VI CR7 Safari boots in soft ground are available at an amazing £50 that’s a saving of £130! Also available at £50 are Umbro Speciali in both FG and SG and Adidas Copa Mundials for the footballers who prefer a more classic looking boot.

Head over to the ACA Sports football boot room to view all the boots on offer, the offer runs up to Sunday 8th May get your boots whilst stocks last.

In the interview Kasper answers questions on why he wanted to work with Precision Training and how involved in the design process of the glove. Kasper also talks about his goalkeeping hero as a youngster and currently as a professional goalkeeper, he gives his view on current Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann and also if he thinks there is any added pressure being a keeper because of his fathers reputation as a world class keeper.

His gloves are styled in a white, gold, black colour way (he explains in the interview why he picked those colours) and are available in a choice of 2 different cut’s, one being Kasper’s preferred choice of Negative palm and the other being a Roll finger glove. Both gloves are available in junior sizes, to find out more about the Precision Training Schmeichel goalkeeper gloves the JustSocca blog on them.

The whole interview with Kasper can be seen in the video below.

Follow us before 13/04/2011 at 12pm, and your name will be entered into our prize draw for a stunning pair of boots signed by England’s Captain (again).  Once we make the draw, using random.org to ensure the name is picked at random, we will notify the lucky follower and arrange delivery.

The boots on offer have been customised for JT, with embroidery on each boot tongue which reads his playing number and his two childrens names (one on each boot). The boots come in a size 8.5 for those who might decide to wear them, but as a collectors item these are worth holding on to.

The boots retail at £80 and with this models customisation, and JT’s signature, it’s one valuable prize.

To enter, visit our Twitter, click the follow button and cross your fingers. Once you are following us, you will also get exclusive vouchers, news on special offers and upcoming products as well as our regular competitions and giveaways.

The John Terry Football Boot Prize Winner.

Congratulations to Joe Ephraim, the lucky winner of our Twitter competition signed John Terry boots. Joe, if you chek this page, please contact us to claim your prize!

The winner will receive a pair of the fantastic new Adidas Predator X in White/Macaw Green…

The winning Question is from Aaron.

His question was… If you could pick any centre midfielder in the world to play alongside in your last game who would it be? Here is Robbie’s answer…Congratulations Aaron your Adidas Predator X will be on the way soon!!

Question 2 is from Patrick

P. Given your own prolific Twitter presence, how do you feel about footballers’ use of social media? Is it repairing the link between fan and player or does it represent a danger for pros?

RS. As you can probably tell I love twitter and Facebook!! There is no doubt that people who used to think I was an idiot have changed their mind thanks to twitter.

My aim has been to give people an insight into the life of a professional footballer, get to know the real Robbie Savage and all the banter that goes with it.

You do have a responsibility to your followers and ultimately use a bit of common sense before you type – I like being able to interact with the fans and despite some abusive messages from the minority it has been a brilliant experience for me.

Question 3 is from Barbara

B. hi robbie, being a mum and wife i would just like to know if it ever upsets members of your family when you get booed at all the games ???? if it was my husband or dad or son if it comes to that i know it would upset me very much…..or have they all learned to live with it?

RS. It isn’t very pleasant being booed but it is something that Sarah has had to put up with throughout my career. There will always be people out there looking to put you down but you just have to rise above it and believe in yourself. It is only what the people close to you think that matters most and my mum will always let me know if I have had a bad game anyway!!

Question 4 is from Alan

A. What has been your biggest regret in football ?

RS. Everton were looking to sign me at one point and whilst I don’t regret anything that has happened in my career, I ahave been very fortunate, I would have loved the opportunity to play at Goodison Park for Everton.

Question 5 is from Adrien

A. Robbie, Kids football in Wales is non-competitive until the age of 12. Do you think we should be rewarding kids who show potential just like we reward kids who are academically good. My sons team went three years unbeaten and they have nothing to show for it Fair or not??

RS. The important thing is that we encourage as many people to play and enjoy football as possible. There are far too many players leaving the game at an early age and we need to get more people back into the game, living a healthy lifestyle and enjoying the game that we all love so much.

Question 6 is from Amanda

A. Do you like marmite????

RS. Love it!!

Question 7 is from Deano

D. What is the most important thing you have learnt throughout your career that you will take with you in life?

RS. If you want something badly enough and you are prepared to put the hard work and dedication in then you can achieve anything.

Question 8 is from Danny

D. What are the best boots you have played in over your career?

RS. I had a pair of Panthers with 4 stripes when I first started playing but have to say the AdiPures I have got at the moment are up there with the best I have had.

Question 9 is from Coventry

C. As a player you was either loved or hated aka marmite man,if you was playing against yourself do u think u would have liked or disliked yourself?

RS. I definitely wouldn’t have liked to play against myself – I would have been far too good!! Seriously though I go on to the field to do the best I can for my team not to be liked by the opposition – off the field is a different matter and I think people are starting to realise I am actually a good bloke.

The final question is from Scott

S. Robbie, Do you think I will win a pair of adidas predator X football boots

RS. No sorry pal but enjoyed the banter!! More work needed though if you want a pair of Predator’s.

Well now you can do just that and have the chance to win a pair of the new Adidas Predator X in White/Macaw Green at the same time, which I’ve reviewed in my recent blog!

Robbie, who is brand ambassador for ACA Sports, will be taking your questions and giving you the all important answers on JustSocca, the official blog of ACA Sports.

How to enter the Robbie Savage Competition.

Enter by simply asking your question on this page using the comments field. Once we’ve got all questions, to be in by Friday 25th February, Robbie will pick the top 10, and announce his favourite, who will win the boots.

Robbie will reveal his top 10 questions and more importantly the answers on JustSocca on the 28^th of February.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

We could now shoot from over the half way line and bend the ball around corners – to be fair David Beckham did both of those in a pair of Predators so they weren’t far off the mark!

I can even remember the April fool’s day when newspapers carried pictures of Neil Ruddock in a Predator headband that gave him more heading power – classic!

Some of the boys have been parading round in the latest versions of the Adidas Predator X in a black/yellow or yellow/red, and to be fair they look pretty sharp. No more massive black groves of rubber but a great striking zone on the front instep of the boot and they no longer use the famous Craig Johnston Kangaroo leather – they have now changed to Taurus bull leather no less.

They are an iconic boot that have been worn by some of the greatest players that have ever graced a football field. The likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Del Piero and Raul don’t just wear any old pair of boots – they are master craftsmen and the boots are the tools of their trade.

Even Dirk Kuyt has a pair!!  Although I thought his had lead in them the way he was running against Chelsea the other weekend!

“One of the most comfortable pairs of boots I have worn”

The White and Green or White and Macaw Green Adidas Predator X as it is officially known are really stylish and possibly my favourite, although I will always be a fan of the traditional black and red.

A great boot whatever the colour and, I have to say, one of the most comfortable pairs of boots I have worn.

If you want to read more about the boots, you can check out these Adidas Predator X blogs which have a little technical to explain the science behind the boots.

Win a pair of Adidas Predator X Boots.

For a chance to win a pair of the Adidas Predator X, in the stylish White/Macaw Green colourway, take a look at me Robbie Savage Q & A Competition!

As soon as they came in they shipped a couple of pairs of the white size 8’s down to me.  Even now I get excited about a new pair of football boots – like when I was a kid growing up – there is just something about that brand new out of the box feeling when you put them on!

I haven’t always worn adiPures and it was the team at ACA Sports that suggested them to me when I joined as ambassador. I was having a chat with the boot expert and mentioned that I had always suffered from bad heels and sore feet.

When you are wearing football boots all day for training it is important you look after your feet – they are like the tools of your trade and in the past some of the boots I have had made the matter worse.

“Even now I get excited about a new pair of football boots”

Since I have been wearing the adiPures the problem seems to have disappeared.  Every pair I have had have moulded to my feet really quickly and I haven’t had to wear them in.

In the past I have changed boots after just a few months but the adiPures have lasted well and until the new model came out I wasn’t thinking about changing them.

The first thing that strikes me when I take them out of the box is the colour and how soft they feel – the blue streak on the white adiPure IV looks really sharp.

They seem to be lighter than the last version and the new soleplate adds a bit of comfort which is evident as soon as you slip your foot in.

“Xabi Alonso, Kaka and Frank Lampard have started to wear them since they have seen me playing in them”

Obviously it is great to see that Xabi Alonso, Kaka and Frank Lampard have started to wear them since they have seen me playing in them – must have been those quality through balls I have been spraying around all season.

These are the best adiPures I have seen yet and I couldn’t wait to test them out in the East Midlands Derby against Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

They didn’t bring me any luck at Pride Park against the local rivals but I was more than happy with how they went.

To find out more about the new Adidas adiPure IV, you can visit ACA Sports, or read about them in this Adidas adiPure IV Blog.

Pepe Reina is one of the worlds top goalkeepers and has made himself a fan favourite with the Liverpool fans. Malcolm our goalkeeping coach asks Reina a few questions about why he like Uhlsport goalkeeper gloves.

ACA: Hi Pepe, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Being a goalkeeper, I’d love to get your take on some of the technologies in goalkeeper gloves and find out about your favourite glove and styles. That said, can you tell me who was your goalkeeping idol growing up?
Pepe: My idols were Zubizarreta and Holind growing up.

ACA: What was your first pair of goalie gloves?
Pepe: I Cant remember the brand name of the gloves, but it had “sticky” palms with rubber nodules. Classic!

ACA: What is your preferred cut, roll finger, flat, negative?
Pepe: I like a Flat palm cut glove.

ACA: What thickness of palm do you like to have on your gloves?
Pepe: I like a 4mm palm.

ACA: What do you look for in a glove bar comfort and grip?
Pepe: I enjoy looking at the various designs of gloves but really the comfort and grip are THE most important factors in a glove.

ACA: Do you feel any difference when wearing extended palm gloves?
Pepe: Yes, I just like the feel of extra contact on the ball that the extended palm gives.

“Definitely one of the highlights of my career and, as you would imagine, the party afterwards was pretty special!”

 
ACA: Do you train, warm up in the same style & cut of glove that you play in?
Pepe: Yes, it is important to feel the same in a match as in training!

ACA: Uhlsport have a great history but what makes u happy to wear Uhlsport gloves?
Pepe: The ability that the brand has to work with me to create exactly the type of glove I demand.

ACA: How was the experience of the World Cup and what were your celebrations like?
Pepe: Definitely one of the highlights of my career and, as you would imagine, the party afterwards was pretty special!

ACA: Are you confident Liverpool can force their way back into the top 4 after all the recent changes and developments?
Pepe: Yes, we are a big club and, in time, we have the players and commitment to get back to the top. Its where we all want to be.

Pepe’s goalkeeper gloves of choice.

Pepe Reina wears Uhlsport Ergonomic Bionik X-Change goalkeeper gloves available at ACA Sports for £99.95