England's Lucy Bronze hits out at impasse over World Cup bonuses

Lucy Bronze has described England flying to Australia for the Women’s World Cup with discussions over performance-related bonuses still unresolved as “frustrating”, but said that pushing for better is “something we’ve always had to do as players.” 

The Guardian reported last Monday that the Lionesses were disappointed at being told they would not receive bonuses from the Football Association in addition to the prize money ring-fenced for players by Fifa. It is understood there is a feeling within the squad that in not committing more than Fifa’s allocation, the FA has put England on a par with the teams least supported by their federations rather than some of the world’s best, such as the US, whose governing body has committed to additional bonuses.

“It is frustrating, but I think that’s the way the women’s game has predominantly been,” said Bronze, speaking from the Sunshine Coast Stadium where England are training before the tournament. “As a team we’ve always been pushing in the background, it’s only been recently that it’s been made more public and people are more aware of it, but it’s something we’ve always had to do as players.

“Someone like Steph Houghton, previously, is someone who did a lot of work behind the scenes that probably wasn’t reported on and people didn’t know as much about. I think we’re in a similar situation now, and I think the point of the players, and everyone involved in women’s football, is about taking it to the next level and pushing the ceiling, not wanting to have a ceiling put on our game, and making sure we leave the game in a better place than we found it.”

The Lionesses trained in front of more than 3,000 spectators in the early afternoon sun, where the only pitch invader was a