England goalkeeper Earps disappointed that her Women's World Cup shirts aren't on sale for fans

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Adidas-sponsored goalkeeper Mary Earps said she was hurt and disappointed by Nike’s decision to not sell her England jersey at the Women’s World Cup.

Nike did not return requests for comment after Earps publicized her frustration following what she said were months of closed-door negotiations with the company. Nike is the official uniform supplier for England.

“I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try,” Earps said ahead of England's Saturday opener against Haiti. “It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.”

Nike, supplier of the uniforms for England’s women’s national team, has no current sponsorship of female goalkeepers.

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, and 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?”

England captain Millie Bright said her niece wanted to buy an Earps national-team jersey, 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 has played goalkeeper for a club and saved money from her ninth birthday to buy Earps' jersey.

“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.

Fans are now calling it “Mearps Merch.”

___

Anna Ruth Riggins is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

___

AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup