FILE PHOTO: England's Mary Earps celebrates with the golden gloves award at Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia - August 20, 2023REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File PhotoNEW YORK : Nike released a replica jersey for England goalkeeper Mary Earps on Monday, after facing widespread criticism for not selling the popular Women's World Cup finalist's shirt.
Earps also said the jerseys had sold out on the same day they were released. Nike would not comment on whether the jersey sold out, or how many it sold, but the shirts do not currently appear for sale on its website or through the England Football Association’s website.Earps was one of the standout stars of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year, earning FIFA's Golden Glove award. She was voted England Women's Player of the Year last month.
More than 170,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling on Nike to sell jerseys for Earps and other women goalkeepers.Nike announced on August 24 that it would make its women's teams goalkeeper kits available for fans, telling Reuters it had “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 produced 13 of the 32 team jerseys for the Women's World Cup.