Nike, which sponsors a number of football (soccer for you Americans) players is testing coloured contact lenses for top players. The firm says red, yellow and amber lenses can help them see the ball better, particularly in bright sunlight.
Brian Roberts, of US basketball team Baltimore Orioles, who has tested the lenses, said: “They’re like wearing sunglasses without wearing sunglasses. I could see such a huge difference right away.”
The lenses, which have been under development for seven years, could be used in Britain this year by Premiership players. Nike is working with contact-lens company Bausch & Lomb to sell them through opticians.
Nike has also signed up tennis star Roger Federer and golfer Justin Leonard to test the lenses. It claims that while the red lenses are ideal for fast-moving sports such as football, grey lenses are the key to golfers being able to discern the lie of the land on a putting green.
[Via: And Far Away, Agenda Inc]