England and Wales have joined forces to announce that they will be wearing rainbow armbands to show their support for the One Love campaign at the upcoming World Cup tournament, with FIFA's charity promotions being put on hold for the time being.
England's captain will be the first to wear the iconic armband, and Wales have made it clear: we are firmly on the side of the One Love campaign and will use the rainbow armband despite FIFA's lack of response. In addition to England and Wales, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Switzerland have also indicated that they will adopt the rainbow armband during the World Cup in an effort to combat discrimination. However, the six countries have yet to take a stance on possible fines.
The rainbow armband originated in the Netherlands to spread a message against discrimination. The campaign has become associated with the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community and with Qatar, where the law criminalizes same-sex conduct and offenders can face up to seven years in prison.
In the face of the worldwide One Love campaign, FIFA launched the Football United World charity campaign, which covers a number of themes such as health, solidarity, anti-discrimination, environmental protection, child protection and food sharing. FIFA distributed the relevant captain's armbands to all participating teams.
