Nike will put “limited quantities” of goalkeeper shirts from the Women’s World Cup on sale after receiving criticism — including from England goalkeeper Mary Earps — for a lack of availability.
Earps said she found the kit manufacturer’s decision to not put the England women’s goalkeeper top on public sale “hurtful”.
Four days after the end of the tournament, Nike says it will make goalkeeper shirts for the England, USWNT, France, and Netherlands teams available in the “coming days” to buy through each federation’s website.
The kitmaker admitted that it did not serve those supporters who wished to show their support for the teams by purchasing the kits.
In a statement, Nike said: “We’ve seen and share the unprecedented passion and interest in women’s football this year and remain committed to playing our part by offering the best products and services to athletes and fans. We invested more in this year’s WC than any other global tournament to date.
“Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, U.S., France, and the Netherlands to be sold through the Federation websites over the coming days, and we are also in conversations with our other Federation partners.
“We recognize that during the tournament we didn’t serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad’s goalkeepers. We are committed to retailing women’s goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future.”
Proud to represent my country 🏴 pic.twitter.com/w16WW6v2m7
— Mary Earps (@maryearps027) July 2, 2023
Before the latest move by Nike to provide the shirts, Earps, whose England side lost 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final last weekend, had said she had made an offer to Nike to fund the sale of her shirt herself when it had not been made available.
“I can’t really sugarcoat this any other way so I’m not going to try,” Earps — named the best goalkeeper at the tournament — said at the time. “It’s hugely disappointing and hurtful. It’s something I’ve been fighting behind closed doors.
“It’s the young kids I’m most concerned about. It’s that they’re going to say, ‘Mum, dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?’ and they say, ‘I can’t but I can get an Alessia Russo No 23 or a Rachel Daly No 9. And so what you’re saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important but you can be a striker if you want.”
Adidas, which outfitted 10 teams for the tournament, did not offer replica goalkeeper jerseys. Neither did Puma, which made kits for Morocco and Switzerland.
But Hummel, which made jerseys for Denmark’s national women’s team, and Castore, which made them for Ireland, each have released replica goalkeeper jerseys for those teams.
GO DEEPER
Earps: You can’t buy a Nike England women’s goalkeeper shirt - ‘it’s unacceptable’
(Photo: Sajad Imanian/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Get all-access to exclusive stories.
Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.
