(Reuters) – Nike will make its women’s teams goalkeeper kits available for fans to buy, the sportswear giant said on Thursday following a petition supported by England keeper Mary Earps.
While fans were able to buy their national teams’ replica kits, the goalkeeper’s jersey was not on sale during the women’s World Cup, which led to criticism from Golden Glove winner Earps and a petition shared by her which had over 150,000 signatures.
The England men’s goalkeeper jersey is available to buy.
Nike issued a statement after the World Cup final to say it understood the desire for a retail version of the women’s jersey and was working towards solutions for future tournaments.
“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,” Nike told Reuters.
“We recognise 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.”
Nike lost earnings potential after the U.S. women’s team suffered their earliest ever World Cup exit, but England’s run to the final provided an extra source of income.
Spain beat England 1-0 in the final.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
