German sportswear giant Adidas has officially launched its boots without laces after unveiling a prototype in November.

Named “ACE16+  Purecontrol”, the new boots are certainly the beginning of a new generation of football technology, created in the name of improving player performance. Looking almost exactly like a normal boot, the only difference is that what would normally be a tongue hidden behind the laces, the region instead molds to the foot, like a second skin.

To make this new model, the brand has used a couple of design elements to replace laces:

Techfit: Inside the boot, the system anchors your foot to provide a lateral stability, necessary to manage the ball.

Primeknit: The powerful Adidas’s knitting which offers a perfect fit and stability between the foot and the boot despite no laces.

Adidas Football Design’s Vice-President, Sam Handy says that the ACE 16+ Purecontrol will be one of the most iconic boots in the brand’s history.

“We deleted an element present on each football boots: laces. Beautiful as well as effective, this boot will provide new sensations to players. Boots with no laces are the future of football and our new brand direction” he said.

Some Adidas’s ambassadors, including Mesut Özil, Oscar and Ivan Rakitic will be the first to use them in the professional arena in the world and will wear them from 23 January.