Onome Ebi to wear 8 different captain armbands to promote social causes

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is just around the corner and teams captain, including the Nigeria national team captain, will be provided with eight different armbands to drive home messages of unity.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 is an opportunity to highlight a range of social causes as football unites the world.

Therefore, FIFA, in partnership with several United Nations agencies have carefully selected eight messages that will be supported during the global event.

However, among these messages, there is the exclusion of “One Love”, a campaign that supports the LGBTQ community, which means captains are not allowed to wear a rainbow armband.

The causes were selected following extensive consultation with stakeholders including players and the 32 participating member associations.

According to a press release from the football governing body, topics were chosen after consultation with 32 participating teams, players, and United Nations agencies.

The messages include the following;

Unite for Inclusion – in partnership with UN Human Rights.
Unite for Indigenous Peoples – in partnership with UN Human Rights.
Unite for Gender Equality in partnership with UN Women.
Unite for Peace – in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Unite for Education for All – in partnership with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Unite for Zero Hunger – in partnership with the UN World Food Programme.
Unite for Ending Violence Against Women – in partnership with UN Women.
Football is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope & Passion – in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, the tournament will also feature activations for other long-term campaigns, namely #BeActive, in partnership with the WHO, and #NoDiscrimination which aims to take direct action to tackle all forms of discrimination, including racism in society.

Speaking on the campaign, FIFA President, Gianni Infantino noted that events like the World Cup have the power to more than anything else unite people and bring them together.

“Football unites the world and our global events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have a unique power to bring people together and provide joy, excitement, and passion,” said Infantino.

“But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society.

“After some very open talks with stakeholders, including member associations and players, we have decided to highlight a series of social causes – from inclusion to gender equality, from peace to ending hunger, from education to tackling domestic violence – during all 64 matches at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

On her part, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura added that football is beyond what goes on on the pitch.

“It’s not just about what happens on the pitch. We are committed to using football’s power as a force for good and leveraging our partnerships with United Nations agencies to achieve our goals. We want to say thank you. Thank you to the players and the teams for sharing your support, for these causes. United, we can make a difference.”