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.
Manchester City reveal trailer for upcoming Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary
Danny Jones
Man City have revealed the first trailer for their new Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary, charting the course of their record-breaking four consecutive Premier League titles.
The follow-up to the Together: Treble Winners series, City‘s highly-anticipated documentary dropped earlier this year following their historic 2023/23 season, the movie will follow the same concept and relive the Manchester club’s latest unprecedented feat from 20/21 onwards.
While the previous TV outing was picked up by Netflix, the latest instalment is set to arrive at the end of this month exclusively on CITY+.
You can see the trailer for Together: 4-In-A-Row down below:
The new Man City documentary will feature exclusive interviews with manager extraordinaire, Pep Guardiola, Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League-winning goalscorer Rodri, club captain Kyle Walker and many more.
There will also be footage including soon-to-depart Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as well as the City Football Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano.
Swapping the series format for a feature-length film this time, this is arguably CITY+‘s biggest release to date, with the content subscription service typically offering full match replays, youth academy coverage, as well as smaller documentaries and podcasts.
The streaming service (accessible via the website, Man City app and smart TVs) was only started back in 2024 but now four years later, rather fittingly, it’s set to document the most important years in the club’s history.
We’ve seen multiple Man City docs in recent years – their 2018 All Or Nothing Amazon Prime Video mini-series being the first – but the launch of the Together franchise back in April has helped put City Studios, on the map.
The in-house entertainment arm, first set up in 2022, has even more ambitious plans for the coming years, with a huge deal to create multiple big-budget productions in collaboration with Sony.
Fans are getting even more behind-the-scenes content soon.
Gavin Johnson, Media Director at CFG, said of the trailer reveal: “We’re delighted to announce the release of our latest offering in the ‘Together’ collection.
“Produced once again by our award-winning in-house production and creative hub, City Studios, the documentary film offers our fans a true insight into the team and how they achieved the historic four-in-a-row success.”
Set to be released at 6pm UK time on 20 November, Together: 4-In-A-Row will only be able to watch via the CITY+ platform.
So, if you’re a Blue who wants to relive the last four years of non-stop silverware, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial, after which CITY+ is just £4.99 a month. An annual subscription can be purchased for £34.99 a year or for £30 with an Official Cityzens membership/season ticket.
Man United legend Eric Cantona stuns Manchester artists with surprise visit to GRIT Studios
Danny Jones
Artists working at a Manchester studio were left speechless by a recent surprise visit from none other than Man United legend Eric Cantona.
The former United forward’s love for the city has never waned no matter how many years have gone by and as a lover of all things art, be it music, painting, acting or what he did with a football, he never fails to engage with local culture whenever he’s here.
He may not be based here anymore but the Frenchman – who knows a thing or two about art given his past acting jobs, newfound music career and previous showcases – still pays plenty of visits to 0161, including a recent unannounced one.
Cantona was back in the city centre this week to pay GRIT Studios resident Michael Browne, the artist who he collaborated with to create his National Football Museum exhibition last year, but the one thing Browne didn’t do was let the other people working in their city centre location he was coming.
Credit: GRIT Studios Manchester (supplied)
To be fair, anyone would double-take if they saw Eric Cantona walk into a room, so this was quite a memorable occasion for the unsuspecting artists.
After working on 2023’s From Moss Side to Marseille with Browne, the 58-year-old has been reimmersing himself in the world of Manchester art and there aren’t many places that epitomise that more than GRIT, who are based in Stockport with a second studio at Great Northern Warehouse.
Landing in Manchester from Paris, Cantona arrived in the late morning and ended up staying for over an hour, taking time to meet a number of artists and tour the space with co-founder John Macaulay.
Clearly impressed with their work and genuinely enthused by the sense of community within the local grassroots art scene, it was a special visit for everyone involved.
John, a die-hard Man United fan who has seen the Red Devils play in 25 countries before going on to set up GRIT Studios and much-loved Art Battle MCR with his wife Sophie, said: “It’s full circle for me having watched Eric play all over the world, it’s true honour that he’s flown in to see our talented artists.”
Artists spent time chatting with Eric and talking through their creative processes; those present included mosaic artist, Francis Thorrington, plein air (outdoor) artist, Sketch MCR – a.k.a. Ben Rock – painters Jodie Silverman, Helen Davies and Sophie Macaulay, as well as woodworker Gus Riddell.
Also a fellow United fan, Francis said he simply “couldn’t stop smiling the whole time” after Cantona described his work as wonderful.
Eric looked at home when he picked up and started strumming Chris Pollin’s hand-made guitars, which are handcrafted from driftwood and take hundreds of hours of work.
The enigmatic sports personality turned pop philosopher and cultural figure clearly enjoyed the visit. His final message was that it was refreshing to see a place where “art was for everyone” not just the elite.
As for Browne, he is sworn to secrecy on his next project but let’s just say you can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks. As for GRIT, you can visit one of their open days this Saturday, 16 November and make sure to check out their Stockport studio if you’re in the area.
Danny Jones -
28th July 2023 
