CanWNT wear purple in protest at SheBelieves Cup

The GIST: The eighth annual SheBelieves Cup fully embodied the tourney’s female empowerment theme during last night’s kickoff, with the CanWNT making a powerful fashion statement and the USWNT (literally) standing in solidarity with their opponent.

The protest: Mired in an ongoing equal pay dispute with their federation, the world No. 6 CanWNT opted for purple “enough is enough” warmups instead of their traditional red and white, choosing the violet hue for its ties to the quest for gender equality.

• ICYMI, Canada Soccer cut funding and deflected calls for transparency, then threatened legal action when the women’s team planned to go on strike to protest the unequal treatment.

• The USWNT — who notably made their own progress toward equal pay at the same tournament back in 2020 — joined their northern neighbors by rocking purple tape, along with white tape that read “Defend Trans Joy.” It’s more than a game.

On the pitch: The Americans came out hot en route to a 2–0 win. Forward Mallory Swanson netted the opening goal in the sixth minute (her fourth in four straight matches), then made it a brace minutes later.

• CanWNT goalie Kailen Sheridan kept her team in it, making some crucial second half saves to prevent the U.S. from running up the score.

• Both squads will be back in action this Sunday — the USWNT faces No. 11 Japan at 3:30 p.m. ET before CanWNT takes on No. 9 Brazil, who won their opener 1–0. Nothing like Sunday Afternoon Fútbol.