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. However, there are no captain’s armbands in the classic rainbow colors, which the German team around captain Alexandra Popp had recently campaigned for.
Popp is happy with FIFA’s decision. “We can also see ourselves in the motifs that have now been defined for the captain’s armband, which also reflect our values,” she said.
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.
Huge controversy at men’s World Cup
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 has also been 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.
After the men’s World Cup, the world association announced that it would enter into dialogue with the associations. Germany’s captain Popp recently said 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.
The same colors as on the “One Love” napkin
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.
At the World Cup, players now have three options: they can choose to wear a “Football Unites the World” captain’s armband for the entire tournament, or they can wear a armband with the same message throughout the tournament, or wear an armband throughout the tournament with a specific theme for each match day.