For anyone unaware of the ongoing scandal, there has been a massive outcry within women’s football and beyond after Nike, who manufacture the kits for both the Three Lions and England’s women’s team, confirmed that they would not be selling the female keeper kits for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Or any nation’s for that matter; 13 of the 32 teams competing in this year’s tournament wear kits made by Nike and yet the sportswear giant hasn’t made any of the countries’ goalkeeper kits available to buy, despite the interest in the women’s game being greater than ever — especially, here in the UK.
As a result, parents, little girls and football fans all around the country have been pleading for the brand to put her shirts, along with all the other ones, and to not only recognise her achievements at club level but in a showing of solidarity too, United fans have erected this massive mural right near the stadium.
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Credit: The Manc GroupThe brand new ‘Welcome to Manchester’ Mary Earps mural painted along the way to Old Trafford.
Making the decision way back in April, Mary Earps has been at the forefront of campaigning for Nike to stock the shirts and reportedly even offered to cover the costs herself but the company has said it is not part of their “commercial strategy“.
Speaking ahead of the Lionesses’ opening win against Haiti, Earps told reporters, “I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.”
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Explaining how England captain Mille Bright told her, “My niece is desperate to get your shirt, where can I get it?” and how she simply had to reply, “You can’t, it doesn’t exist.”, she said, “That is a huge problem and it is a scary message that is being sent to goalkeepers worldwide, that you are not important.
Having been voted FIFA’s Best Women’s Goalkeeper for 2022 and played a huge part in the Lionesses’ historic Euro 2022 triumph, Earps right went on to add: “My shirt on the Manchester United website was sold out last season. It was the third-best-selling shirt, so who says it is not selling?”
Mary Earps has criticised Nike for not selling the Lionesses' goalkeeper kit 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/ZKSL4RjIxd
Earps went on to add: “It’s the young kids I am most concerned about. They’re going to say, ‘Mum, Dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?’ and they say, ‘No, but I can get you an Alessia Russo 23 or a Rachel Daly 9.’ What you’re saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important but you can be a striker if you want.
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“All my teammates have ordered a lot of shirts for their friends and family. They are talking about it at the dinner table: ‘Oh I wasn’t able to get this ‘…There are a lot of people who have spent a tremendous amount of money on outfield shirts and then put a number one and Earps on the back, which doesn’t sit well with me either.”
The 30-year-old Nottingham-born shot-stopper insisted it’s something she has been working on behind the scenes ever since the Euros, when the excuses she was given were, “It was Covid, manufacturing issues”, and yet there has still been little progress even with people putting pressure on the FA.
Earps admitted that she perhaps should have made a public statement earlier but said that even she had to check with her teammates that she wasn’t overreacting at which point they assured: “No, it’s absolutely unacceptable. We stand for inclusion and this is the total opposite of that. Why are we aligning with brands that don’t have inclusion at the centre? Why is it always about the bottom line?”
“Unfortunately, it has become very evident that is not possible and there is not going to be an acceptable solution for the young kids out there”, said Earps. “On a personal level, it is hugely hurtful considering the last 12 months especially. There has been an incredible rise in goalkeeping participation.”
From a fan perspective, they aren’t letting up and an official Change.org petition to sell Mary Earps England shirts both online and in shops has been set up. Presenter Laura Woods has also rallied behind the campaign, labelling Mary “one of [her] favourite England players” and the decision not to stock her kit “very weird“.
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The game is and has always been for everyone; no football fan, be it a little girl who dreams of being a goalie, a die-hard England fan or otherwise, should be made unable to wear their favourite player’s number and name on their back.
As echoed by the Lionesses themselves, it’s not even just about player representation either: it’s about equality for everyone and making sure little girls like Isabel can go out after school or on a weekend, pull on their favourite player’s shirt, feel like a footballer and like they can go and live our their dream.
‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
Danny Jones -
28th July 2023 
