Four days before their debut in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the players of the English team have shown their discontent with the Federation for the progress of the negotiations on the international bonuses and have announced that they postpone the talks to after the tournament. “We are disappointed that an agreement has not yet been reached,” reads the statement signed by 25 footballers. With our debut on the horizon, we, the Lionesses, have decided to pause the talks with the firm intention of resuming them after the tournament.
The captain of the English team, Millie Bright, has been in charge of publishing the joint statement of the players and distributing it through social networks this Tuesday. A text in which they explain how the negotiations with the English Federation (FA) have gone and the importance of reaching an agreement: “Last year we showed the FA our concern about bonuses and commercial structures. We hoped that these talks would lead us to an agreement before the start of the World Cup”, they lament.
The English soccer players assure that reaching a satisfactory “long-term and transparent” agreement is “vital for the growth of women’s football in England” and reiterate their commitment to a fight that they will resume after the World Cup: “We collectively feel a strong sense of responsibility for with the growth of this sport. Our focus now will be completely on the tournament but we are confident that every tackle, pass or goal will contribute to the work we are committed to doing off the pitch.”
England debut this Saturday against Haiti in Brisbane. Sarina Wiegman’s, current European champions, are one of the favorite teams to win the World Cup trophy for the first time. In the group stage, in addition to the Caribbean team, they will face Denmark and China.
