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23rd August 2023
11:58am BST
England goalkeeper Mary Earps has called out Nike after they released a statement defending their decision not to sell replica goalkeeper shirts throughout the tournament.
Nike, the supplier of England kits for the women's World Cup, faced huge backlash before the start of the tournament after it became evident that the goalkeeper shirts would not go on sale.
Earps said at the time that it was "hugely disappointing and very hurtful" but despite calls for the shirts to go on sale at a later date, they never did.
A statement from Nike after the tournament said that they were "working towards solutions for future tournaments".
Nike is committed to women’s football and we’re excited by the passion around this year’s tournament and the incredible win by the Lionesses to make it into the final.
"We are proudly offering the best of Nike innovation and services to our federation partners and hundreds of athletes," they 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.
"The fact that there’s a conversation on this topic is testament to the continued passion and energy around the women’s game and we believe that’s encouraging."
Earps then responded to the disappointing response for their lack of an apology.
Screen shotting the statement, the Manchester United 'keeper replied: "@Nike is this your version of an apology/taking accountability/a powerful statement of intent?”
The following post on Earps' story contained a link to a change.org petition calling on Nike to release the goalkeeper shirt. More than 128,000 people have signed the petition so far.
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