(Reuters) – Lucy Bronze said the England squad feels “empowered” in their quest to improve standards in the women’s game after they paused bonus discussions with the Football Association (FA) ahead of the World Cup.
England captain Millie Bright released a statement on Tuesday saying the players were “disappointed” the issue had not been resolved but would set it aside to focus on the World Cup.
The FA’s decision not to offer the England team bonus payments on top of the fees they will earn from world soccer governing body FIFA has been a bone of contention in the build-up to the tournament.
“It’s the first time as a player group that we’ve actually sent a message out ourselves, that we’ve collectively done together,” Bronze told reporters on Wednesday.
“So in that respect, it’s a very empowered player group, last night, this morning and these past few weeks.
“We felt it was important that we sent the message out, because there has been some talk. We want to show that we’re focused for the World Cup – that is our main focus.”
When asked if the squad would be distracted by the dispute instead of focusing on the World Cup, Bronze said she was “100% confident” that would not be the case.
“Every single one of our players is fully focused on playing in the games and playing great football,” Bronze added.
“These conversations happen regularly, they’re just not in the media. They happened before the Euros (last year) and I don’t think it distracted us then because we went on and won it.
“It’s something that we now have to deal with as footballers … We’re performing athletes, we’re role models, we’re empowering women around the world, we’re changing society.”
England kick off their group stage campaign against Haiti on Saturday followed by games against Denmark and China.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
