Sole assembly for footwear and footwear equipped therewith

A sole assembly for sports footwear comprising:

• an outsole formed from a polymeric material having a high friction coefficient, the outsole comprising a base portion having an inner surface and an outer surface, and a plurality of ground resting knobs protruding from the outer surface of the base portion;
• at least one shock-absorbing layer formed from a first polymeric material foam having a first compression elasticity modulus and/or a first resilience, said at least one shock-absorbing layer comprising an upper surface and a lower surface opposite the upper surface, the lower surface comprising at least one housing seat, the at least one shock-absorbing layer being attached to the outsole with the lower surface of the at least one shock-absorbing layer at least partially in contact with the inner surface of the base portion of the outsole;
• at least one plate-like pad formed from a second polymeric material foam having a second compression elasticity modulus and/or a second resilience that is lower than the first compression elasticity modulus and/or the first resilience of the shock-absorbing layer, said at least one plate-like pad being disposed within the at least one housing seat of the shock-absorbing layer and being embedded between the at least one shock-absorbing layer and the outsole;
• and
• said outsole comprising at least one annular groove formed into the outer surface of the base portion to define at least one increased deformability section of the outsole that is locally aligned with said plate-like pad.