Jürgen Klopp liked to call Liverpool’s fearsome meetings with Manchester United “the salt in the soup.” The Reds spiced up Sunday’s latest iteration of this derby with a new shirt.

Instead of the familiar Standard Chartered sponsor splashed across the front of the famous red kit, Liverpool’s players were decked out with the two words “Play On” emblazoned in large font on their midriffs for United’s visit to Anfield.

The ‘Play On’ initiative was first launched by sports marketing company Octagon in 2023 as a way of “strengthening the global spotlight on women’s soccer.”

“Our research discovered that girls quit sports typically due to stigmas imposed by society,” a press release read. “Girls dropping out of sports is a concern to us all, and by featuring elite male players in the ‘Play On’ campaign, Standard Chartered and Liverpool showed that everyone—from the top down—has a responsibility to support and encourage girls to play on.

Liverpool had spent much of the summer being criticised for the perceived imbalance in finances between their men’s and women’s teams. During the same transfer window which saw Arne Slot’s Premier League champions treated to the largest spend in football history, with around £415 million ($557.2 million) splashed on an array of talent all over the pitch, Liverpool’s women were dominated by departures.

Taylor Hinds started each and every WSL game last season but was allowed to join Arsenal on a free transfer over the summer. Olivia Smith also headed to north London, although Liverpool did extract a world-record £1 million fee from the Gunners.

The campaign didn’t get off the best of starts as Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring for Manchester United 63 seconds into Sunday’s fixture. Ironically enough, Slot lamented the fact that referee Michael Oliver had allowed “play on” after a collision between Alexis Mac Allister and Virgil van Dijk in the buildup to that early opener.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Liverpool Are Wearing Special Home Kit vs. Man Utd.

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