UNITED IN SPORT: THE 2023 FOOTBALL INSPIRED CAPSULE

FOR THE LOVE OF SPORT: SOCCER EDITION

P.E Nation x Rebel Football Inspired Capsule

UNITED IN SPORT: THE FOOTBALL EDITION

In the lead up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament, we look at the journey of women in football, and how team spirit is the number one factor uniting us all in sport.

FORTITUDE IN MOTION

In 1984, a woman named Nettie Honeyball founded the British Ladies FC. Captaining the side, Honeyball built a dedicated squad of almost 30 players. Public reaction to a female football team was mixed, but Honeyball and her team persisted.

On March 23, 1895, Honeyball coordinated an all female inter-squad match; North London versus the South. Tickets to the game were opened to the public, and 10,000 people gathered in the stands - with many more being turned away. North beat South 7-1. The team played a number of further exhibition matches, eventually disbanding due to lack of funding. Nevertheless, interest in women’s football faltered little in the coming years.

On Boxing Day 1920, a women’s football game held at the grounds today known as Everton Football Club attracted more than 53,000 spectators, with 10,000 more fans turned away. Despite the game’s popularity, public scrutiny reigned. In 1921, just one year later, the Football Association of England banned women from playing, and from having access to club facilities. The ban stood in place for 50 years, before its lift in 1971.

Today, FIFA estimates the number of women and girls playing football worldwide stands at 29 million, with the aim to facilitate an increase to 60 million by 2026.

As well as the physical and emotional benefits playing and supporting football can add to our lives, its importance around women supporting women, and team spirit, is what stands at the forefront of its universal appeal.

United in Sport: The Tennis Edition - read our interview with tennis pro and P.E Nation ambassador Ana Bogdan here.

TEAM SPIRIT

In the words of Olympian and former forward for the United States women's national soccer team, Abby Wambach, “I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.” Although retired, Wambach stands as the highest all-time goal scorer for the US national team with 184 goals; has played in four FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments; and played for the US during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Still, there is no goal throughout her career that Wambach would claim as her own. “No I or individual is better than the team. I’ve scored no goals just on my own. Every goal I’ve ever scored has been because of someone else on my team, their excellence, their bravery. And I’m kind of the end product of a collection of a really good vibe, and feeling, and creativity on the field.”

With similar sentiment, Australian women’s soccer player Sam Kerr has spoken in the past of the level playing field, mutual respect and true expression of team spirit witnessed on the women’s football pitch. “Everyone on the team is on a level playing field,” Kerr told the Guardian in 2017 of her experience playing with the Matildas. “There are no hierarchies, there are no cliques, it is everyone together. We are fit and we are fast. That’s where women’s football is going.”

UNITED IN SPORT

rebel x P.E NATION: FOOTBALL INSPIRED CAPSULE

Celebrating all women who love sport and are in sport, we’re proud to launch the P.E Nation Football Inspired Capsule in collaboration with rebel, the Home of Football.

An exclusive four-piece collection formulated in collaboration with rebel, the 2023 P.E Nation Football Inspired Capsule champions inclusivity. A limited edition collection, the 2023 Football Inspired capsule is dedicated to the power and expression of women at the forefront of football, and debuts our brand-new AIRFORM fabrication, engineered for premium comfort and peak performance on the pitch.

“When designing the football inspired capsule, the team wanted to create the ultimate fusion of high-performance function, purpose, and P.E Nation energy. This collection is inspired by women in sport - she is strong, she is confident, she has freedom of movement, her style is on point on and off the pitch,” explain P.E Nation Co-Founders Pip Edwards and Claire Tregoning.

“Intentionally modelled on, styled and photographed by members of our P.E Nation team, the creative direction for the campaign centred around inclusivity and an extension of our invitation to Join The Nation; to be a part of our team as we acknowledge, support and celebrate women in sport. To encourage women to raise the playing field, find their voice and be involved.”

As long-time champions of female participation in sport, rebel is a great fit for P.E Nation and the new capsule.

View the Lookbook

DESIGNED TO PERFORM
The Football inspired Capsule felt like the perfect stage on which to debut P.E Nation’s brand-new AIRFORM fabrication. Incorporating 85% recycled polyester in its makeup, AIRFORM’s high-performing breathable technology is ideally positioned across the capsule’s in-play jerseys.

Lightweight with a subtle waffle texture for improved airflow, AIRFORM offers supreme fast-dry technology, to deliver premium comfort and facilitate peak performance on the pitch.

The capsule comprises two AIRFORM jerseys - short and long sleeve silhouettes - as well as 92% recycled soccer shorts and a pair of 76% recycled premium compressive P.E active leggings. The four-piece collection features a digital green-and-gold gradient print throughout and is intended as a functional uniform that performs on pitch, resonates right through the stadium, and works as a streetwear statement - fitting the P.E purpose of active-streetwear designed to perform ALL Day, EVERY Day.

ALL SPORTS. ALL STREETS. ALL STADIUMS.

ONE WORLD. ALL NATIONS. ONE TEAM. ALL PLAYERS.

SHOP THE COLLECTION