World Cup: players and English federation fail to reach agreement – 07/18/2023 – Sport

England players have paused bonus discussions with the Football Association (FA) ahead of the Women’s World Cup, captain Millie Bright said on Tuesday. According to her, the team was “disappointed” for not having resolved the issue.

The athletes have been embroiled in a dispute with the federation since FIFA’s announcement of awards. The world’s top football entity said it will pay individual fees to players in the World Cup, in amounts ranging from US$ 30,000 (R$ 144,000) – for the group stage – to US$ 270,000 (R$ 1.3 million). million) – for each member of the winning team.

The FA’s decision not to offer the England team bonus payments beyond the fees they will receive from Fifa has been the subject of controversy in the run-up to the tournament.

England open their World Cup against Haiti on Saturday and Bright said they would pause discussions with the FA until the end of the tournament.

“Last year we raised concerns with the FA relating to our bonus and commercial structures,” she said in a statement on Twitter signed by all England players. “The hope was that the discussions would lead to a solution before the start of our World Cup.”

“We are disappointed that a resolution has not yet been reached (…). With our opening game on the horizon, we Lionesses have decided to pause discussions, with full intention of resuming them after the tournament.”

The Professional Players Association (PFA) said that salary issues were especially evident in countries where players did not have collective bargaining agreements.

“The Lionesses join players from many countries at the World Cup who are prepared to speak out when they feel they are not being heard,” said PFA CEO Maheta Molango.

“There will always be consequences when players feel they have to go back issue by issue to fight for equality and progress. It doesn’t have to be that way.”