French football celebrates International Women’s Day with special jerseys

PARIS (AP):

Every player in the top-two divisions of men’s football in France will have “WO=MAN” written on the back of their jerseys instead of their names this weekend.

The French league initiative, centred on International Women’s Day on Saturday, started on Friday with Toulouse’s home game against Monaco. It was continuing on Saturday and Sunday with the other teams in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 as part of the league’s fight against sexism.

“The message resonates as a strong statement,” the Ligue de Football Professionnel said in a statement. “Highlighting the importance of gender equality, not only on the field, but also in the stands.”

LED panels around the pitches will display “WO=MAN” at all games and official match balls have the motto written on them. Match broadcasters DAZN and beIN SPORTS will raise awareness with halftime messages.

The French league has been working all season to make stadiums safer for women in conjunction with three organisations — The Foundation for Inclusive Sport, Her Game Too and Colossus with feet of Clay — and with six pilot clubs: Toulouse, Rennes and Auxerre in Ligue 1 and Metz, Paris FC and Troyes in Ligue 2.

Among the measures in place are a system for reporting sexual and gender-based violence and a support and protection procedure in case of incidents, including post-incident monitoring.