Lionesses and Manchester United Women’s keeper Mary Earps has once again called out Nike over the ongoing women’s goalkeeper kit saga, with thousands now having signed a petitionurging them to change their minds.
In case you missed it, Nike‘s decision not to manufacture and sell replica female keeper kits this year loomed large over the 2023 Women’s World Cup after England‘s no.1 publicly criticised the sports brand over what they labelled merely ‘financial strategy’.
With millions of fans urging the global franchise to adjust and stock not only Earps’ kit but that of all the other goalkeepers at this year’s women’s tournament, the company finally issued a pubic response but, for many, it was seen as somewhat of a non-statement.
Reacting to the statement on Instagram, the 30-year-old said, “Nike, is this your version of an apology/taking accountability/a powerful statement of intent?”, as well as sharing images of the support she has been receiving online — including a petition that’s now been signed by more than 136,000.
Credit: Mary Earps (via Instagram)Swathes of England supporters and non-football fans alike have signed the Mary Earps petition.
The petition notes how the Nottingham-born shot-stopper’s Man United shirt was also the third-best-selling and ultimately sold out last season, insisting, “We need to unite and demand this decision is overturned. We need to show togetherness and support Mary and ask Nike to rethink their decision.
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“Let’s make them see just how important our female goalkeepers are. How respected they are and how many young girls aspire to join them in the future. Any type of exclusion is unacceptable in this day and age and we need to show we will not stand for it.”
Concluding by saying, “Mary and all female goalkeepers, we love and respect you. You are inspirational and we are behind you”, the Change.org petition is now well on its way to 150,000 signatures as it’s clear plenty of Brits still want to show support and buy the kit.
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In fact, the demand for the Lionesses kits, in general, shot up by nearly 4,000% ahead of the World Cup final and Earps’ shirt was one of the most in-demand, and even in the more immediate aftermath of the decision going public, a massive mural of the Golden Glove winner was erected near Old Trafford.
In their statement addressing the mounting pressure from fans, Nike said, “We hear and understand the desire for a retail version of a goalkeeper jersey and we are working towards solutions for future tournaments, in partnership with Fifa and the federations.”
However, as Earps said at the time, she had been given the same assurances that they would begin manufacturing and selling women’s goalkeeper kits to the public after they failed to do so for the Euros.
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Whether or not Nike will change its position sooner rather than later remains to be seen but one thing is clear: football fans are not letting up.
Salford RLFC finally confirm new head and assistant coaches
Danny Jones
Salford RLFC have finally announced their new head and assistant coach picks as the new rugby league season fast approaches.
The Salfordian phoenix club had already confirmed they’d reached provisional pre-contract agreements with a new boss and several players following the news of the consortium bid that kept the sporting institution alive, but now they officially have a new leadership team to get behind.
Following Salford Red Devils’ resurrection by the aforementioned investment group – though it still remains unclear whether this will eventually include a full rebranding – familiar face Mike Grady and his assistant Dave Hewitt are now in place.
They replace ex-boss Paul Rowley, now at St Helens, and his assistant, Kurt Haggerty, who both left in October and September of last year, respectively.
Sharing the news in an official statement on their new Instagram account amid a major overhaul of their online presence, the local side wrote: “We are proud to announce Mike as the new Head Coach of Salford RLFC, joined by Dave Hewitt as Assistant Coach.
“Mike brings over 12 years of coaching experience across club and international rugby, most recently leading the Salford Women’s team and previously coaching at Widnes.
“His appointment marks another big step forward in our rebuild, combining experience, passion and a deep understanding of what Salford rugby league stands for: hard work, resilience and exciting rugby.
“Joining him, Dave Hewitt, former St Helens and England Academy player, will focus on developing our attacking play and nurturing new talent.”
Hewitt also played for Oldham RLFC across three spells, as well as Rochdale Hornets.
As for the board, they sign off by adding: “Together, Mike and Dave represent the energy and belief driving this new era for Salford RLFC.”
With several ‘key announcements’ soon to be made, we can expect a better idea of what the new and hopefully improved Salford will look like in time for their opener against the Roughyeds in the Championship on Friday, 16 January.
It is worth noting that the club have yet to reveal any actual squad signings.
As for co-owner Caton-Brown, who knows all about the club and the community from his several years playing in the area, we have the pleasure of chatting with him first-hand about the vision for their future.
As a result, Pep Guardiola and co. have decided to cut the 20-year-old’s loan spell at Championship outfit Watford FC short to bolster their ranks along the backline.
The Italian journalist gave the reports the ‘Here We Go!’ seal of approval on Monday, 5 January, following confirmation of Gvardiol‘s ankle problem.
“Man City act fast as Josko Gvardiol will now be out for several weeks with injury”, he writes, “and so Max Alleyne returns.”
Himself a bit of a utility player, having also been deployed in defensive midfield on occasion, the Bristol-born youth academy product could prove a useful option in various positions across the pitch.
While Guardiola admitted that the versatile Croatian star’s issue “doesn’t look good” – this being the same ankle he had surgery on back in November 2025 – it remains to be seen how serious his Portuguese teammate’s muscle concern is.
Romano continues: “Alleyne has been doing great at Watford on loan… City informed the London club this morning, even if they’re very happy [with] how they managed Max over recent months. Club-to-club good relationship, City wanted Alleyne in their squad ASAP, and Watford let Max leave today.”
The England prospect has represented his country in every age group from the under-17s to Lee Carsley’s U21 side, and has certainly impressed on the national stage.
Danny Jones -
23rd August 2023 
