Mary Earps thanks fans as her England jersey sells out within hours – after Nike finally agreed to stock the £100 shirt following World Cup backlash

• Mary Earps hit out at the ‘extremely hurtful’ decision not to sell her shirt
• Nike put the ‘Earps 1’ replica jerseys on sale following an online petition
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Mary Earps has thanked fans for their support after her England jersey sold out within hours after Nike finally agreed to sell it – saying it’s all down to them.

The England and Manchester United goalkeeper, 30, took to Instagram to express her shock at how quickly her shirt, on sale for £99.95, had been sold – but for those who missed out, she promised it will be back in stock soon.

During the Women’s World Cup this summer, Earps received widespread support after she hit out at the ‘extremely hurtful’ decision not to sell her shirt during the tournament, with over 170,000 people signing a petition calling on the kit manufacturer to change their mind.

It is understood Nike originally decided against selling Earps’ shirt for commercial reasons but a U-turn was made in August when they announced they would retail limited quantities.

The goalkeeper shirts were finally put on sale on Monday in green, yellow and pink – but several fans missed out on the chance to buy one because no announcement had been made that they were available.

Mary Earps, 30, has responded after her England number 1 goalkeeper jersey finally went on sale yesterday and sold out within hours 

However, taking to her Instagram story, the goalkeeper reassured fans they will soon have another chance to buy themselves an Earps jersey.

She wrote: ‘Didn’t realise these were going onsale today. And you’ve sold them out already!

‘More are coming before the end of the year and in more sizes (kids and adults) so stay tuned!

‘Thank you all for your incredible support on this. You guys have made this happen!’ 

A statement from Nike in August read: ‘The England GK jersey will be available in limited quantities on the FA’s website, in the coming weeks, and we are currently working to make youth GK jerseys available by the holiday season.

The England and Manchester United goalkeeper took to Instagram to thank her fans for their support in helping her shirt sell out

Nike put the ‘Earps 1’ replica jerseys on sale following a backlash during the World Cup

‘We are committed to retailing women’s goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future.’

Earps, who was named FIFA Best goalkeeper earlier this year, spoke passionately during the World Cup on Nike’s decision not to sell her shirt for a second tournament running.

‘On a personal level it’s obviously hugely hurtful, considering the last 12 months especially,’ Earps said.

A shirt with ‘Earps 1’ on the back retailed for £99.95 but are selling for double the price on eBay

‘For my own family, friends and loved ones not to be able to buy my shirt, they’re just going to come out and wear normal clothes. All my team-mates, they’ve ordered a lot of shirts for their friends and family, they’re talking at the dinner table “I wasn’t able to get this” and I’m saying “I wasn’t able to get it at all”.

‘I know there’s a lot of people who have spent a tremendous amount of money on outfield shirts and then put ‘1 Earps’ on the back, which doesn’t sit well with me either.

‘It’s a very scary message that’s being sent to goalkeepers worldwide that “you’re not important.”

‘A lesson I’ve learned is that I should have made a public statement sooner maybe. I look back on it and I’ve tried everything. I offered to fund it myself and my team-mates have been really supportive.’

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround after being dropped from England squad in 2019 and considered retirement.

She hit a million followers on TikTok on Monday.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article