Women's Women Cup: England's Millie Bright to support gender equality and indigenous people

Millie Bright and her England team-mates were welcomed to Australia with a accepted smoking ceremony

England skipper Millie Bright volition deterioration armbands supporting inclusion, indigenous radical and sex equality successful the Women's World Cup radical stage.

Bright volition besides enactment caller causes successful immoderate knockout games.

"We felt truly powerfully astir each the causes," she said.

"We couldn't abstracted 1 from the other. We consciousness that they are each important and merit designation and our support."

The players made a radical determination to deterioration the armbands to item a scope of societal issues.

The messages connected the different armbands for the tourney co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand work 'Unite for Peace', 'Unite for Education for All', 'Unite for Zero Hunger', 'Unite for Ending Violence Against Women' and 'Football is Joy, Peace, Hope, Love and Passion'.

Bright volition deterioration the 'Unite for Inclusion' armband erstwhile England statesman their World Cup run against Haiti connected Saturday.

"We person lone conscionable travel to a determination precocious arsenic we wanted to instrumentality clip to process it each and to marque definite we spoke collectively," added Chelsea defender Bright, 29.

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"Supporting indigenous radical is massively important to america arsenic a team, some unit and players. We wanted to travel to this state and respect the past, the contiguous and the future.

"We are alert of the past, but we privation to determination guardant collectively and marque the satellite a amended place. It is thing that we ever pridefulness ourselves on."

After arriving successful Australia, England hosted an unfastened grooming league astatine the Sunshine Coast Stadium wherever they were welcomed with a accepted smoking ceremonial - an Aboriginal customized to privation bully luck and ward disconnected atrocious spirits - led by the Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi people.

On Wednesday, the players heard from Karen Menzies, the archetypal indigenous subordinate for Australia's Matildas, astir the past of and challenges facing the Aboriginal community, arsenic good arsenic reparation efforts.

"We person been honoured with 2 ceremonies and been capable to person conversations and amended ourselves a small spot much connected the Aboriginal people," Bright said.

"Everything which comes with the civilization is amazing. I deliberation we consciousness truly honoured to person had the opportunity."

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'We cognize the changes we privation to make'

Fifa's approved armband program has been criticised for not doing capable to straight advocator for the LGBTQ+ community, similar OneLove's rainbow band.

Fifa said it would enforce sporting sanctions if captains wore the armbands during the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar, wherever same-sex relationships and the promotion of same-sex relationships are criminalised.

The Netherlands began the OneLove run earlier Euro 2020 to beforehand diverseness and inclusion, and arsenic a connection against discrimination.

LGBTQ+ advocacy non-profit organisation Glaad has reported a grounds 91 players who are members of the assemblage are expected to enactment successful the 32-team Women's World Cup.

England manager Sarina Wiegman said she feels her squad, which includes respective retired players, is satisfied with wearing the Fifa armbands alternatively than the OneLove plan and midfielder Jordan Nobbs said that she and her team-mates "know our values".

Bright added: "As a team, we cognize what we basal for, what we judge successful and we besides cognize the changes that we privation to make.

"So careless of an armband, we would similar to deliberation our actions and our morals correspond everything that we judge successful and basal for."