England defender Lucy Bronze has expressed her relief at a deal on bonuses and back pay being struck with the Football Association (FA) after months of negotiations.
Bronze is part of the senior leadership team who have been leading discussions for over a year, with the squad publicly announcing before this summer’s World Cup that they were stopping talks until after that tournament and revealing frustration that they had not been able to reach an agreement.
The Lionesses wanted to be paid a performance bonus on top of a payment from the association mandated by FIFA, which captain Millie Bright announced had been agreed on Thursday.
Conversations are ongoing over a new commercial agreement, which will dictate how England players’ sponsorship agreements intersect with their international commitments, among other issues.
Speaking after England’s 2-1 win over Scotland in Sunderland, Bronze explained the team’s motivations behind seeking the deal.
“We’re happy to have been able to draw a line on the bonuses and previous stuff and move forward with the FA and the PFA, making sure that we were challenging women’s football,” she said.
“We want to set the standard on and off the pitch to help other countries be able to set the standard. I think it’s something that the…
 after months of negotiations. Bronze is part of the senior leadership team who have been leading discussions for over a year, with the squad publicly announcing before this summer’s World Cup that they were stopping talks until after that tournament and revealing frustration that they had not been able to reach an agreement. The Lionesses wanted to be paid a performance bonus on top of a payment from the association mandated by FIFA, which captain Millie...){kind=link}