World Cup Arm Band Initiative: World Cup Captains Will Be Allowed to Wear Arm Bands Highlighting Social Causes

glamour.com:

in Australia and New Zealand, which starts on July 20, players will finally get to wear a social issue on their sleeves—well, their arms.

has announced that team captains can choose from eight arm bands representing social causes. Here’s the lineup:This content can also be viewed on the site it from.Within this new official World Cup arm band initiative, team captains can opt to wear one arm band of their choosing throughout the entire tournament, or coordinate with the theme of each match; games will feature all of the eight causes, with elements throughout the stadiums tying into the themes.

The World Cup arm band options were selected following months of discussions with all the 32 participating countries/teams as well as with United Nations agencies, according to FIFA.Of course, the concept of FIFA-approved arm bands actually arose from some controversial recent happenings in the soccer world.

FIFA—which has historically taken a tough stance against players wearing political, religious, or personal messages and symbols during high-profile tournaments—has preemptively prohibited women’s team captains at the upcoming World Cup from wearing supporting the LGBTQ+ community, as many had .