Northamptonshire teenager wants apology after Nike U-turn on selling goalkeeper Mary Earps' shirt

A teenager whose petition piled pressure on Nike to sell England goalkeeper Mary Earps' shirt says she is proud about the U-turn - but now wants the sportswear giant to apologise.

On Thursday, the England women's national team kit supplier confirmed it would be selling limited numbers of women's goalkeeper jerseys for England, the US, France and the Netherlands.

It comes after Nike was heavily criticised for not selling a replica of the England number one - who saved Jennifer Hermoso’s spotkick as they lost 1-0 to Spain in Sunday's final - despite doing so for the men's national team.

At the start of the World Cup, 16-year-old Emmy Somauroo, from Desborough in Northamptonshire, set up a petition which has been signed by over 160,000 people.

It called on Nike to reconsider its decision, but until Thursday the manufacturer had stood by the move, saying it was considering "solutions for future tournaments".

Emmy told ITV News Anglia she was proud and thought the calls for Nike to sell the kit were a fitting tribute to Earps' performances in the World Cup.

Speaking to Christine Lampard about her next steps on ITV's Lorraine on Friday, Emmy said: "An apology for Mary would be nice, but just to see as many people joining together and as much support as we can to all female goalkeepers is really important."

After already saying Nike not selling the kit was "hugely disappointing and very hurtful" earlier in the World Cup, Earps took to Instagram on Tuesday afternoon to criticise the firm again.

Alongside an image of Nike's statement on "solutions for future tournaments", Earps wrote: “@Nike is this your version of an apology/taking accountability/a powerful statement of intent?”

Following the U-turn, Nike admitted it "didn't serve fans who wished to show their passion" by not selling the shirt.

A spokesperson told ITV News: “We've seen and share the unprecedented passion and interest in women’s football this year and remain committed to playing our part by offering the best products and services to athletes and fans. We invested more in this year’s WC than any other global tournament to date.

"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.

"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.”

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