Manchester City’s players will wear special Emmeline Pankhurst-inspired pre-match jackets in their warmup for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Newcastle.
Pankhurst, who was born in Manchester, was a suffragette who helped found the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903, which called for the right for women to vote.
The strip takes on the colours of the WSPU – green, white and purple, while honouring Pankhurst’s “Manchester roots and overriding vision for female equality”.
Similarly, City’s women’s team will wear a Pankhurst-themed shirt for their Women’s Super League fixture against Tottenham on Sunday, which will take place at the City Academy Stadium.
Check out some images of the strip below:
Described by Time as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, Pankhurst’s work is recognised as a crucial element in achieving women’s suffrage in the UK.
In her later years, Pankhurst joined the Conservative Party and was selected as a candidate for the party in 1927.
She died on June 14, 1928, just weeks before the Representation of the People Act (1928) extended the vote to all women over the age of 21.
Beverley Cook, the curator of the Museum of London’s Votes for Women display, spoke to Women in Sport about the Suffragettes’ impact on sport itself.
“The Women’s Social and Political Union was led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters. That is hugely significant because they were incredibly charismatic characters and they were inspirational speakers. Many women who joined the organisation and the union had simply gone along to hear them talk. Just like in sport, it was important to have that charismatic and inspirational leadership to empower you.
“In terms of empowering women, here they were leading by example and that was something that a lot of women at that time were drawn to, these role models that they could aspire to be.
“In terms of lessons that can be learned from the past, I think it’s about working together to be agents of change. That is the most effective thing. All too often we work in isolation. I think women are at their strongest when they work together for a common cause.”
