In a victory that goes far beyond the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Nike has finally agreed to sell Mary Earps’ Lionesses shirt following backlash across the country and the footballing world. Get in.
The Lionesses and Man United Women’s no.1 has been leading the charge when it comes to demanding Nike U-turn on their decision not to sell female goalkeeper kits for this year’s tournament and after weeks of uproar among the general public, the sports brand has finally buckled.
Following Earps saving what has now gone down as an iconic penalty moment in the Women’s World Cup final against Spain, the public outcry for the company to produce replicas of her England shirt grew even louder, with more than 150,000 people signing a petition in support of selling the kit.
As a result, the petition was submitted to Parliament and Nike has now confirmed they will finally manufacture and sell ‘Mary Earps 1’ Lionesses shirts. About bloody time.
Nike confirm they will sell England goalkeeper Mary Earps' replica shirt in limited quantities 👕 pic.twitter.com/o95nTULy7F
Issuing a statement to The New York Times on Wednesday night, 23 August, a spokesperson said: “Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, U.S., France and the Netherlands to be sold through the federation websites over the coming days, and we are also in conversations with our other federation partners”.
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As per multiple outlets, they went on to assure, “We’ve seen and share the unprecedented passion and interest in women’s football this year and remain committed to playing our part by offering the best products and services to athletes and fans.
“We invested more in this year’s WC than any other global tournament to date… We recognize that during the tournament we didn’t serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad’s goalkeepers. We are committed to retailing women’s goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future.”
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While the female keeper kits will only be available in “limited qualities” for the four nations, the U-turn is a watermark moment in the women’s and serves as a brilliant moment in which the general public notched a huge win against a worldwide corporation. They didn’t let up for one second and here in Manchester, we had a feeling the writing was on the wall from the get-go.
Speaking when the controversy first came into the public eye, the 30-year-old England women’s keeper said, “I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful… What you’re saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important but you can be a striker if you want.”
The support from her teammates, across the nation and throughout football in general has been nothing short of seismic and after she once again called out the giant sporting fashion franchise for what many labelled a bit of non-statement, it’s clear that the fan pressure and public sentiment became to big to ignore.
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A truly massive and well-deserved moment for Mary Earps and her fellow women goalkeepers.
We knew it was going to happen the second she saved that pen.
Amazon is hiding loads of free stuff in lockers next week for Prime Big Deal Days
Daisy Jackson
Amazon will be hiding free gifts around the UK next week to celebrate Prime Big Deal Days.
The online retail giant will be stashing everything from mobile phones and earphones to beauty gift sets and designer watches in its network of lockers.
You might even stumble upon a new, free kitchen gadget when you’re collecting your normal Amazon shopping.
There is a catch though (or a perk, depending on how you look at it).
The Irish star, who just landed his first UK number one album, wants to make customers ‘feel like a big deal’, apparently.
And seeing as he shot to fame with his viral flashmob stunts, he seems like a good choice to be popping up from behind Amazon lockers as people pick up their online shop.
Cian Ducrot comments: “My flash mob performances are all about spreading joy and music, and I loved helping shoppers feel like a big deal at the Amazon Lockers.”
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Day sales event, which is taking place on 10 and 11 October 2023, will also see the brand hide hundreds of items in Amazon Lockers around the UK.
Over those two days, Prime members who are collecting shopping will be given the opportunity to pick a code, which will open a locker containing a free item to take away.
Surprise locker locations will be in London, Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle, Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester on 10 and 11 October.
The giveaway runs alongside a Prime member exclusive shopping event, featuring deals on everything Prime members need for Autumn, from making an early start to festive shopping, to stocking up on seasonal essentials.
Council Tax in Manchester could be raised to support the city’s ‘poorest households’
Emily Sergeant
Manchester City Council has laid out plans to potentially raise residents’ Council Tax to help support the “poorest households” in the city.
Councillors are proposing that, under the city’s current Council Tax Support scheme, the amount owed by a household is reduced by up to 100% for pension-age residents with the lowest incomes, and up to 82.5% for working-age residents with the lowest incomes from April 2024 – with the maximum reduction for working-age residents increased by 2.5% to 85%.
This means the maximum that those eligible for support would have to pay is just 15% of the bill, according to Manchester City Council.
At the same time, it’s being proposed that rules allowing reductions to be backdated, in instances where someone “has a good reason not to have claimed sooner”, are extended to allow up to a year’s back payments, rather than up to six months as is currently the case.
With the proposals all laid out, a consultation has been opened and residents living in the Manchester borough are now being asked for their views.
The Council is proposing changes to the Council Tax Support scheme that would provide more support for Manchester residents.
The Council Tax Support scheme currently provides around one fifth of Manchester households with help paying their Council Tax, but it’s estimated that these proposed changes would cost the Council around £770,000 in 2024/25.
This proposed raising of Council Tax also comes after the Council revealed earlier last month that £50 million in funding will go towards upgrading and improving social housing in Manchester over the next two years – with thousands of tenants living in social housing and Council-owned residential complexes across the city and wider borough set to benefit.
Residents in these properties are set receive what is being dubbed “transformational investment” to their homes before 2026.
Council Tax in Manchester could be raised to support the city’s ‘poorest households’ / Credit: Archello / Rockpanel
“We are acutely aware that some residents are really struggling due to cost of living pressures,” admitted Cllr Rabnawaz Akbar, who is the Executive Member for Finance at Manchester City Council on the proposals, “and this is why we’ve already introduced a range of measures to help people access food, advice and support.
“As part of this wider response, we want to go even further to help the poorest households in Manchester with their Council Tax, and that’s what these proposals are all about.
“We’re keen to hear your views on what we’re suggesting before we make a final decision.”
Danny Jones -
24th August 2023 
