Adidas has unveiled the CLIMACOOL SYSTEM, a new performance technology designed to help football players manage high temperatures during the FIFA World Cup 2026. The company developed the system for the hot and humid conditions forecast in several host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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The CLIMACOOL SYSTEM includes three components, comprising a cooling vest, an insulating jacket and a cooling overshoe. adidas designed each product to lower body temperature, increase heat tolerance and help athletes maintain endurance during tournament preparation.
Players wear the cooling vest over their jerseys before entering the pitch. The vest contains a specialised gel that teams freeze before use. As the gel gradually thaws, it transfers cooling effects to the upper body, torso, abdomen and back. This process helps reduce body temperature during warm-ups and other pre-match activity.
The insulating federation jacket works together with the vest. Its airproof construction traps cold air and prolongs the gel’s frozen state. According to adidas, the jacket can almost double the cooling benefit that the vest delivers alone. The complete upper-body system can lower core body temperature by as much as 0.5°C and skin temperature by 13°C.
adidas also created the cooling overshoe to address heat and swelling in players’ feet. Players place the overshoe directly over their football boots. Its cooling gel can lower foot temperature by 2°C within seven minutes. The design preserves sensitivity and dexterity for actions including dribbling, passing and shooting.
Marc Makowski, Senior Vice President of adidas Innovation, cited temperatures above 30°C in Miami, Dallas and Monterrey, along with humidity in other host cities. adidas worked with Manchester United, Juventus and Arsenal during development, gathering feedback from players and medical teams. The company used those tests to refine the system and assess its effects on athletes.
The project began with technology that adidas originally created for Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team drivers facing extreme cockpit heat. A multi-year development process adapted that technology for football. adidas introduced football-specific details such as a front zipper on the vest, allowing players to put it on and remove it easily.
The CLIMACOOL SYSTEM joins the wider adidas product range for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Fourteen teams will wear new adidas federation kits during the tournament. The away designs return the Trefoil logo to a World Cup pitch, while CLIMACOOL+ materials help players stay cool and dry.
adidas has also developed the TRIONDA Official Match Ball with the latest version of its Connected Ball Technology, which supports faster officiating decisions. The F50 Hyperfast Evo completes the tournament range as the lightest adidas boot created for use at a FIFA World Cup.
adidas will supply the CLIMACOOL SYSTEM to every partner federation competing at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
