Champions who make a mark

We're at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest catching up on the latest action. Plus, the Women's World Cup has undoubtedly spurred a new generation of fans to the game. Street corners, parks and any where a game can be played is now almost as likely to be filled with youngsters wearing shirts with Carmano, Kerr or Bronze on the back of their shirts as Ronaldo, Messi or Kane. But up until Thursday, and despite her penalty saving heroics in the final, one replica shirt you couldn't buy was that of England Goalkeeper Mary Earps. Well after calls from fans and even a petition, Nike have finally succumbed. In a statement they said "Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, U.S., France, and the Netherlands... We recognize that during the tournament we didn’t serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad's goalkeepers. So why does it matter? We speak to Alex Ireland who is the author of the recently published Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt’ Tony Gale won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995, but started his career alongside the great George Best. No surprise then that Tony was known throughout his career as a bit of a character in the dressing room! He's just released his autobiography called "That's Entertainment" and he told us what it was like to be an apprentice at Fulham in the 1970's alongside some of the biggest names to ever to play the game. Photo: Gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi of Team Italy celebrates after winning the Men's High Jump Final during day four of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 22, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Credit: Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)