Arsenal Women have partnered with Persil to destigmatise period leaks and menstruation in football with a new campaign.

To this day, periods are still seen as a taboo topic in society, and that connotation negatively affects athletes. Whilst playing on with a blood-soaked sock or gashed leg is viewed as a sign of strength and grit in football, a period stain is seen as something embarrassing. 

‘Every Stain Should Be Part of the Game’ aims to challenge this double standard with some of the sport’s biggest names. 

Persil conducted a survey of 1,000 teenage girls between the age of 15 and 18, revealing that an alarming rate of young athletes were dropping out of sports due to discomfort and anxiety surrounding their periods. 

6 in 10 girls had experienced a period leak whilst playing, leading to feelings of anxiety, shame and embarrassment. Nearly all had thrown away period-stained clothing, highlighting the idea of menstruation as something shameful rather than natural, as well as a lack of education on how to remove the stains effectively.

With Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Katie McCabe fronting the campaign, the club is hoping to change that perception, starting in their own community first. 

In addition to matchday promotion, Arsenal are running workshops and programmes aimed at educating and supporting children and adolescents in challenging society’s view of menstruation and encouraging conversations and understanding when it comes to periods and sport.

Players like Williamson and Mead have been vocal about the anxiety-inducing aspects of playing whilst menstruating, with the Lionesses no longer wearing white shorts as a result. Nike’s leak-proof base layer shorts were designed with these feelings in mind, and clubs and countries around the world have begun swapping white shorts for darker colours. 

Conversations surrounding periods in sport as a whole, not just football, have become more common, but it is still an uncomfortable topic for most. Arsenal Women have made it their business to change that, using their influence to encourage the next generation. Here’s to more efforts changing that perception for good in the future.

Keep to date with Persil's 'Dirt is Good. Play On!' campaign here.