One of the world's best soccer teams is taking the names off their jerseys to make a point
The Swedish women's national soccer team may have won a silver medal in the 2016 summer Olympics, pulling off a huge upset by ousting the Americans from the competition, but that apparently hasn't translated into widespread respect for their skills back home.
In the wake of their historic win, the less successful men's team still managed to get a significant share of accolades and media attention. So the players decided to launch an unconventional campaign.
In partnership with Adidas, the team created limited edition jerseys that swap the players' names for tweets meant to inspire and empower.
Lotta Schelin, one of the world's most talented forwards, traded her name for a tweet from Swedish feminist leader Gudrun Schyman: "Never look down on someone unless you're helping her up."
Star midfielder Lisa Dahlkvist wears the words of the Swedish singer Zara Larsson: "Believe in your damn self."
The campaign will use the hashtag #InYourName and is meant to motivate women to stand up for each other and themselves. Schelin, the team's captain, said in a statement that the players want to encourage women to believe in their ambitions.
The jerseys go on sale March 8, which is International Women's Day and marks the final match in the annual Algarve Cup, where the Swedes will compete for the championship title. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to a Swedish organization that supports young female athletes.
If wearing a player's jersey is the ultimate way to pay homage, the Swedish women's team just found a way to make that a political act.
Topics Gender
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
