Nike has U-turned on selling Women’s World Cup goalkeeper jerseys after sustained pressure to make replica kits available for purchase.
Nike came in for criticism before the tournament when it became apparent replica shirts would not be available, and Mary Earps questioned the company’s statement which defended its decision not to sell them.
The Manchester United keeper won the golden glove at the World Cup, where she saved a penalty in the Lionesses’ 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final. Earps has become a firm fan favourite as interest in the women’s game has boomed.
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Nike shared a statement with The New York Times which confirmed: “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.”
Nike has 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 posted a screenshot of the statement on her Instagram stories, adding the comment: “@Nike is this your version of an apology/taking accountability/a powerful statement of intent?”
In a following post, Earps provided a link to a change.org petition that started in July, calling on Nike to release the goalkeeper shirt and it currently has more than 150,000 signatories.
Additional reporting by PA
