No rainbow, but a colorful message for inclusion: In contrast to the men’s World Cup, the world football association allows multicolored captain’s armbands in the style of the “One Love” armband for the women’s World Cup. Various bandages with messages on social issues are allowed at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand this summer, as FIFA announced on Friday. However, there are no captain’s armbands in the classic rainbow colors, which the German team around captain Alexandra Popp had recently campaigned for.
FIFA said it would work with United Nations organizations to draw attention to various social issues during the Women’s World Cup from July 20 to August 20. “After many open discussions with stakeholders, including member associations and players, we have decided to highlight a range of societal issues – from inclusion to gender equality, from peace to the end of hunger, from education to domestic violence – throughout all 64 matches at the Women’s World Cup,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the statement.
At the men’s World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022, there was a major controversy surrounding the captain’s armbands. In addition to the rainbow armband, the so-called “One Love” armband was also banned by FIFA under threat of sanctions. A heart in bright colors can be seen on the bandage and the slogan “One Love” can be read. The ban on the armband also caused a stir when the DFB-Elf were eliminated from the preliminary round. It ended with captain Manuel Neuer and the other players covering their mouths before the opening game against Japan.
“They reflect our values”
After the men’s World Cup, the world association announced that it would enter into dialogue with the associations. Germany’s captain Popp recently stated that her team would “very much like” to play with the rainbow armband at the World Cup. The rainbow colors stand for more diversity in society. “We’re also completely fine with it if we play with a different bandage afterwards,” said the 32-year-old striker recently.
Now she is happy with FIFA’s decision. “We can also find ourselves in the motifs that have now been defined for the captain’s armband, which also reflect our values,” said the 32-year-old on Friday, according to a statement by the German Football Association. The German team now wants to decide together which bandage to wear at the tournament, Popp explained. “One thing is clear: Our team stands up for diversity, regardless of the captain’s armband.”
The visualization provided by FIFA shows captain’s armbands for the Women’s World Cup. : Image: dpa
The FIFA Inclusion armband now features the same colors as the One Love armband. The German Football Association announced last year before the men’s World Cup that the bandage should be a sign against any form of discrimination and for any form of diversity. “Red, black and green can be found in the Pan-African flag, pink, yellow and blue symbolize the pansexual flag,” said a statement from the DFB at the time.
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At the World Cup, players now have three options: they can wear a tournament-wide captain’s armband that says “Football Unites the World,” or they can choose to wear a tournament-wide armband with the same message, or wear an armband with a specific theme for each match day.
