The FA has said it will pay any possible fine it’s hit with over Harry Kane wearing the ‘One Love’ armband at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Star striker and England captain Kane is set to wear a multi-coloured armband – which is intended to promote inclusivity, campaign against discrimination, and show support to the LGBTQ+ community – once football’s flagship international tournament kicks-off this Sunday.
He is one of several national team captains expected to wear the armband – along with Wales, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland.
But due to the World Cup host country’s anti-LGBTQ+ views, and with homosexuality illegal in Qatar under Islamic Sharia law, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has told Sky News that they are braced to be punished and will “pay the fine” should it be handed to them.
It comes after the FA sent a request to wear the armband at the tournament two months ago, but, in an interview at the England training camp in Qatar this week, Mr Bullingham revealed that FIFA still “haven’t given us any response”.
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While the armband does not directly referencing anti-LGBT laws, as mentioned, it is intended to promote inclusivity, and FIFA is known for usually prohibiting the addition of unsanctioned slogans on player’s kits during tournaments.
The body even recently urged teams at not to indulge in giving morality lessons at the first World Cup in the Middle East.
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Yet the FA is determined to “show our values”.
England captain Harry Kane will wear the ‘One Love’ armband in Qatar / Credit: The FA
Speaking to Sky News, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham explained: “[FIFA] haven’t given us any response to our letter. I think there’s a possibility that we might be fined. And if we are, then we’ll pay the fine.
“We think it’s really important to show our values… and that’s what we’ll be doing.”
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The FA says it has had assurances LGBTQ+ fans would be safe to attend the World Cup, and would not discriminated against by Qatari authorities, yet Mr Bullingham says it’s saddening to hear that some have decided against making the trip.
“It’s sad for us that quite a few of our LGBTQ fans have decided not to come,” he said.
“I know a lot of our Three Lions Pride members are not coming, and that was frustrating because they didn’t get the information they wanted in time to make their arrangements.”
As well as showing support with the ‘One Love’ armband, the FA says it will use its presence in Qatar to pursue more compensation for families of low-paid workers and help to establish a permanent migrant worker centre – with Mr Bullingham saying he believes there has been “really positive progress” with what’s been achieved over the last four years.
He concluded: “What’s critical for us though, is these last two outstanding issues should be brought through, and we’ll be putting a lot of pressure on FIFA, together with a bunch of other European countries to do that.”
The Three Lions’ first game against Iran is on 21 November, with their second group game against the USA taking place on 25 November.
The final clash of the group stage coming against Wales on 29 November.
Featured Image – England
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New Amazon Prime Video docuseries to show Pep Guardiola’s final seasons at Manchester City
Emily Sergeant
A new all-access docuseries featuring Pep Guardiola’s final few seasons at Manchester City is set to air this summer.
Coming exclusively to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, the four-part documentary is set to take Manchester City fans and neutral viewers alike inside the club as the players and manager – who delivered an era of dominance -make way for a new generation.
Filmed over the past two seasons, this is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football, and will offer unfiltered access to Guardiola, his squad, and the City boardroom.
After 10 trophy-filled years – which included six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, and five EFL Cups – Pep Guardiola called time on his tenure in Manchester last month, alongside fan favourite players Bernardo Silva and John Stones, as well as Kevin De Bruyne the season prior.
This new docuseries was there to follow them every step of the process.
Fans can follow City from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign right through to a domestic double the following season, charting the raw emotion of a squad in transition.
The series is directed by Academy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Kevin Macdonald, alongside City Studios’ John De Caux, and is produced by Kevin Macdonald for Plan B/KM Films and Gavin Johnson and Ged Doherty for City Studios.
“This is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football,” Amazon Prime Video said in a statement.
Joining Prime Video’s wide selection of sports programming, the series will be available to watch at no additional cost to Prime members this summer.
It’ll be ready to stream on 19 August.
Featured Image – Prime Video
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Here’s our petition for ‘Wonderwall’ to become England’s new football anthem
Danny Jones
All things considered, England have made a great start to the 2026 World Cup, pitching themselves as one of the great entertainers this tournament, and the scenes of the supporters and players alike serenading an entire stadium with ‘Wonderwall’ after the full-time whistle gave us chills.
So why not time for a change?
After all, that feels a lot like what this World Cup squad is about: a new manager, new teammates, not clinging to the previous ways of playing – and perhaps it’s time to put ‘Sweet Caroline’ to one side.
Now, we’re by no means saying that we’re ‘done’ with the Neil Diamond anthem that has been reborn as a Three Lions anthem, but look at how good it was watching England belting out Oasis with the fans.
“Today is gonna be the day that England beat Croatia 4-2”, as BBC’s Match of the Day cleverly quipped.
Obviously, we’re biased as Mancs, but we also think there’s something special about having that particular track feel so good to hear again.
As much as we love Oasis, for a long time, it felt like we couldn’t enjoy arguably their biggest-ever single anywhere near as much as we once did.
We assume it’s something akin to hearing ‘Mr Brightside’ non-stop for what felt like millennia, and in truth, hearing those repetitions of “ba, ba, ba… SO GOOD, SO GOOD!” over and over again at sporting fixtures beyond just national team games has taken the magic out of it at times.
Perhaps it’s just a case of saturation in certain settings and songs simply being overplayed – FIFA’s co-hosts over in the US certainly helped see to that when it came to ‘Wonderwall’ for a long time.
On the other hand, it feels like we’ve now come full circle; singing those famous lyrics at the top of our lungs in a sea of Mancs and fans travelling from all over to Heaton Park for Live ’25 last year felt better than ever, and like we’d all remembered how great a tune it’s always been. So did this…
In fact, this felt so emotional that you’ve got people who aren’t even English praising both those on the pitch and up in the stands for the moment online.
Even the admittedly rather American Man vs Food himself, Adam Richman (though he does have British ancestry), felt compelled to write a moving response on social media: “Shut up. You’re the one that’s crying. Bravo, England.”
He’s far from the only one who was left bowled over by the atmosphere – us included.
What do you think? Is it time for a new go-to tournament anthem for the Three Lions moving forward?
Emily Sergeant -
18th November 2022 
