Lucy Bronze ‘a shame women have to fight for changes’ as bonuses dispute overshadows World Cup preparations | Football News

Lucy Bronze has told Sky Sports News that England players are determined to fight for change in the women’s game as a dispute over bonuses is overshadowing World Cup preparations.

sky sports news Controversy broke out ahead of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand after it was reported earlier this week that England players were “frustrated” by the FA over the bonuses they would be paid if they progressed in the competition.

A FIFA rule change for this World Cup will give players a fixed performance-based bonus, regardless of the country they play for.

Earlier the bonus was at the discretion of the national associations. But that is no longer the case, with English teams unhappy about being given the extra bonus.

Asked if he was disappointed that talk of bonuses for England players was hanging fire ahead of the tournament, Bronze said Sky Sports News: “I think a lot of these issues happen in women’s football – you just don’t see it for our team.

“There are so many teams where players or federations or teams struggle to make changes in the game.

“We are taking the game forward, we are trying to reach new levels and we want to do the same as players on and off the field.

“It’s a shame that women in sport in general have to do this, but I think it’s a more important role than many athletes, many women play in society and sport.”

sky sports news It was reported earlier in the week that England women could still be paid some additional bonuses if they perform well at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

It is believed that the FA’s commercial partners may come forward with more money to reward performance, as has happened with both the England men’s and women’s teams in the past.

Sky Sports News reporter Anton Toloui confirmed a number of solutions are still being considered.

“Fair payment to players is a big issue in this World Cup,” he said.

“For England, Lucy Bronze is the first player to have spoken openly about the situation and admitted her frustration with the situation and that talks between the players and the FA are still ongoing.

“The FA is considering various ways to potentially resolve this.”

How did this situation arise?

FIFA has changed the rules for this World Cup to ensure that all players in the tournament, regardless of country, earn the same as their opponents who reach the same stage of the competition.

This means that bonuses are fixed for each round, with all players receiving £24,000 if they lose in the group stages, and £213,000 if they win the World Cup.

In the past, because prize money was paid directly to individual associations, it was up to the discretion of that country to decide how much players would be paid from the prize fund. That is no longer the case.

As a result, for the first time ever, the English FA has lost money at this World Cup, however, because of the costs associated with hotels, flights, equipment and other support staff as teams perform.

However, the players are upset that the FA is unwilling to award the additional bonuses themselves, instead allowing FIFA to foot the bill.

Women will earn an average of 60 percent more at this World Cup than they did four years ago. The prize for failing to progress beyond the group stages is up 300 percent this time compared to 2019, and up 700 percent compared to 2015.

The men’s team has traditionally donated their victory bonuses to charity when on England duty.

But the same players earn far more than the women from their domestic contracts and commercial endorsements, so it could be argued that they can more easily be generous with their England bonuses.

What about other countries?

Sky Sports News reporter Anton Toloui:

“Other players are going to their federations and saying: ‘That’s great, that (bonus pot) is coming from the money you’re getting from FIFA, but what else are you doing for us from the federations? ?’

“For example, you have Canada, [they] Salary and conditions are still under negotiation. They are trying to settle their collective bargaining agreement.

“For example, you have South Africa, who lost a friendly last weekend before the tournament because they were unhappy with the pay and conditions.

“And then you have Nigeria. Their captain has come out and basically denied reports that they were on the verge of being ruled out of the World Cup because of the bonus.

“It is a big issue for many countries going into this World Cup. However this is the first time that England have faced this problem in a World Cup. We will see how it is resolved.”

When and where is the 2023 Women’s World Cup?

This year’s tournament will be held Australia And new zealand making it the first ever co-hosted Women’s World Cup.

the tournament begins July 20 with the final 20 august In Sydney at Accor Stadium.

America are the defending champions and are trying to become the first team in the competition’s history to win the tournament three times in a row.