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Published 20 July 2023 3 min read
England Women's Senior Team

England to wear 'Football Unites the World' armbands at World Cup

Written by:

Nicholas Veevers

Lionesses squad have made the decision to support numerous social causes during their World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand

FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: FIND OUT MORE
England’s World Cup captain Millie Bright has revealed the squad will support FIFA’s ‘Football Unites the World’ campaign by wearing armbands highlighting a range of specific social causes during this summer’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

The Lionesses kick-off their campaign on Saturday with the first group stage game against Haiti in Brisbane, when the theme will be to ‘Unite for Inclusion’.

And following that, the support will switch to ‘Unite for Indigenous People’ for the second match against Denmark and then ‘Unite for Gender Equality’ in the final group game with China PR with the opportunity to support more causes beyond that should England reach the knockout stage.

“We wanted to go with FIFA’s proposal. As a group, we felt really strongly about all the causes, and we couldn’t separate one from the other,” said Bright, speaking on behalf of the squad who led this decision.

“We feel that they are all important and deserve recognition and our support.

“We’ve only just come to a decision recently, as we wanted to take time to process it all and to make sure we spoke collectively.
Millie and the England squad have been warmly welcomed at both of their bases in Australia since arriving for the World Cup
Millie and the England squad have been warmly welcomed at both of their bases in Australia since arriving for the World Cup

“As a team, we know what we stand for, what we believe in and we also know the changes that we want to make.

“So regardless of an armband, we would like to think our actions and our morals represent everything that we believe in and stand for.”

The England squad will have been in Australia for two weeks by the time they kick-off against Haiti and have been welcomed by the Traditional Custodians of the land on which they’ve been based in both Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.


And having learned more about more about the history of Indigenous People and their experiences, Bright says this is an important matter for the whole group.

“Supporting Indigenous People is massively important to us as a team, both staff and players,” she explained.

“We wanted to come to this country and respect the past, the present and the future.

“We are aware of the past, but we want to move forward collectively and make the world a better place. It is something that we always pride ourselves on.

“We have also been involved in a conversation yesterday and learning about Indigenous People and the culture.

 


“We’ve been honoured with two ceremonies and to be able to have conversations and educate ourselves a little bit more on the Aboriginal People and everything which comes with the culture is amazing.

“I think we feel really honoured to have had the opportunity.”