England women’s players are reportedly willing to go on strike if the FA do not propose a pay offer they deem as acceptable next week. The long-running disagreement could come to a head in crunch talks in the coming days.
The Lionesses reached the Women’s World Cup final just three weeks ago. Sarina Wiegman’s side were bravely beaten by Spain in a match that has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding their opponents.
But it isn’t just the Spanish who are facing problems on the public stage. Discussions have been ongoing since the end of last year to resolve pay issues surrounding the England team.
Just four days before the World Cup, a statement signed by all 24 squad members expressed disappointment that a disagreement with the FA over bonus payments for the tournament had not been resolved. We are now 21 days post the final in Sydney and England are still seeking answers.
The Mail reports that strike action could be an option for the Lionesses. Talks are set to be held next week with a new offer set to be proposed by the FA.
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Lucy Bronze: Lionesses ’empowered’ after taking FA discussions public
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If it is not acceptable to the players, a source told the Mail that they could take the ‘nuclear option’ of stopping all commercial work for the organisation. It is also claimed they could refuse to play until an acceptable resolution is found.
England are due to play their first game since the World Cup in the Nations League against Scotland on September 22. Talks will continue when players head to the training camp.
The same report claims England wanted bonus payments of £100,000 per player if they had won the World Cup, with that reducing to around £50,000 if they were runners-up. In the future, players want clarity over payments before tournaments rather than negotiating during and after.
The FA had scrapped bonuses for women because FIFA had increased prize money at the World Cup. Each member of the England squad received £153,000 for reaching the final.
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Lucy Bronze played a key role throughout the tournament. Speaking ahead of the first game, she outlined the importance of making the pay dispute public.
Bronze said: “I think the players are feeling very empowered. I think it’s the first time as a player group we’ve actually ever sent the message out ourselves, that we’ve collectively done together and set our sights on.
“So I think in that respect it’s been a very empowered player group last night and this morning and these past few weeks. I feel like we felt it was important that we sent the message out, because there has been some talks (and) we want to show that we’re focused for the World Cup, that is our main focus.
“It’s super sad that we have these issues. I think that again, this was something that we spoke about as an England group. We’re not only doing this for ourselves, we’re doing it so that we can set a standard.”
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