England players heading to the Women’s World Cup are frustrated with the Football Association over its stance on performance-related bonuses.
Players for some rival nations are set to receive bonuses, but as things stand the Lionesses will not.
However, they have been in talks with the FA and Professional Footballers’ Association about the issue.
This year, for the first time at a Women’s World Cup, players will receive individual payments direct from Fifa.
These payments range from £23,500 for players whose teams are knocked out in the group stages to £211,000 if they win the tournament. Nations will also receive increased prize money, with the winning country set to be paid £3.4m.
Money from Fifa was previously given to national football associations competing in a Women’s World Cup, who would then choose how to distribute it, including any payments to players.
The new Fifa model guarantees that players from all nations will receive payments, following discussions with the global players’ union, FIFPRO.
The FA had previously offered bonuses to the Lionesses, but it is understood the organisation now believes Fifa’s direct payments to be a suitable replacement.
But players feel that the FA, which considers itself to be a leading federation in women’s football, is being overshadowed by some rivals – including Australia, the United States and Spain – who are willing to provide bonuses to their squad members.
The German Football Federation (DFB) will also not offer bonus payments to its players, who lost to England in the Euro 2022 final.
England are set to fly out to Australia on Wednesday 5 July with their opening match against Haiti set to take place on 22 July in Brisbane, and players are keen to reach an agreement before then.
It comes as part of a wider frustration concerning the FA’s commercial strategy, which players feel limits their ability to earn extra payments from sponsorship and marketing opportunities.
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