FIFA announces ‘Unite’ armbands for Women’s World Cup as OneLove band blocked

England’s players will not be allowed to wear the OneLove armband in matches at the World Cup this summer but will be able to wear bands supporting other causes.

FIFA has announced plans, first reported exclusively by the PA news agency last week, to highlight a number of social issues and causes throughout the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Captains will be able to wear armbands corresponding to the cause being highlighted in each round of matches, or wear an armband in support of one cause for the entire tournament.

FIFA has consulted with national associations and players over its plans in a bid to avoid a repeat of the row over ‘OneLove’ armbands which dominated the opening week of the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year.

There, captains of the nations involved in the ‘OneLove’ campaign, including England and Wales, were threatened with sporting sanctions starting at a yellow card if the bands were worn, because they would have been a breach of FIFA equipment regulations. The bands were seen as a potent symbol of tolerance in a country where same-sex relationships were criminalised.

PA understands teams can promote other causes at team training camps if they choose to, but wearing the ‘OneLove’ band, or any other unapproved band, at a match would trigger sanctions.

The colours of FIFA’s ‘unite for inclusion’ band are not those of the rainbow or LGBT pride flag, instead, they symbolise race and heritage (red/black/green) and all gender identities and sexual orientations (pink/yellow/blue).

The choices for the colour combinations were inspired by the Pan-African flag and the pansexual flag respectively.

Alongside inclusion, the other causes being highlighted are ‘unite for indigenous peoples’, ‘unite for