BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — England goalkeeper Mary Earps is calling Nike’s decision to not sell her jerseys during the Women’s World Cup “hugely disappointing.”
After trying to negotiate behind closed doors for months, Earps went public ahead of England’s opener Saturday against Haiti in Brisbane.
“I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try,” Earps said. “It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.”
Nike, which supplies kits for England's women’s national team, did not respond to requests for comment. Earps has an individual sponsorship with Adidas.
England won the Euro 2022 title, beating Germany 2-1 in front of a record crowd for the women's tournament of more than 87,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium. Earps started in goal as the Lionesses won their first major international trophy. FIFA named her the Best Women’s Goalkeeper of 2022.
Earps has played in the Women’s Premier League for Manchester United since 2019.
“My shirt on the Manchester United website was sold out last season,” Earps said. “It was the third-best-selling shirt, so who says it is not selling?”
“We as a group stand for inclusion,” Earps said of the England squad, “and this is the total opposite of what we stand for.”
England captain Millie Bright said her niece wanted to buy an Earps national-team kit, but Bright had to tell her that it wouldn’t be possible.
“It is the young kids I am most concerned about,” Earps said. “They are going to say, ‘Mom, Dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?’ and they say, ‘I can’t, but I can get you an Alessia Russo 23 or a Rachel Daly 9.’ And so what you are saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important but you can be a striker if you want.”
England fans Hannah Todd and her daughter Annabel from Canterbury expressed their disappointment on Earp’s Instagram.
Annabel, 9, has played soccer for two years, currently for Whitstable Town FC. She'd saved her money from her birthday with hopes of buying the kit that is worn by England's goalkeeper.
“There aren’t many girl goalies at her age and it would have been so great to have the kit to represent Mary and increase the awareness,” Hannah Todd said in a telephone interview. “It was Mary Earps who inspired Annabel to become a goalie in the first place.”
With a growing number of fans but no national-team kits for sale, Earps decided to launch her own line of shirts. She said she wanted to create something that people could have for themselves. People have called it “Mearps Merch.”
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Anna Ruth Riggins is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup
