The battle for gender equality in sport rages on, and Brazilian striker Marta is the latest player to lend her support to the cause, lacing up in a pair of blacked-out Nike Mercurial Vapor that displayed the pink and purple symbol of the recently formed ‘Go Equal’ project.
The women’s World Cup has not disappointed so far in terms of action and drama, and that was typified in Australia’s recent comeback victory over Brazil. During that match, Brazilian goal-scoring legend, Marta converted from the spot to make it 1-0. As part of her celebration she pointed to an unfamiliar symbol on her blacked-out Mercurial. Turns out that that blue and pink 'equals' symbol represents ‘Go Equal’, a newly formed project that has joined the battle for equality across genders in sport.
Marta has always been a staunch supporter of equality in the women’s game, and in 2018 she was appointed as the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for women and girls in sport, and throwing her support behind ‘Go Equal’ will only serve to highlight the cause further.
As well as serving to highlight the ‘Go Equal’ cause, Marta’s goal also made her the highest scoring Brazilian in World Cup history, with 16 goals in 18 games, one more than Ronaldo. She is currently level with Miroslav Klose, despite having played six games fewer (18) than the German. The goal also set her apart as the only player ever to score at five World Cups.
Prior to the tournament, Marta was a PUMA athlete, but she was recently spotted wearing white Mercurials in the warm up ahead of the Jamaica match – a game she did not feature in. It’s thought that the lack of any brand affiliation is in protest against the fact that women receive less sponsorship than their male counterparts. While the Australia game was the first time that she was seen with the blue and pink stripes on her boots, do not expect it to be the last.
Brazil's last group game is against Italy on 18 June.
