England Women have been left disappointed with the lack of performance-based World Cup bonuses before they leave for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The players are “disappointed” with the incentives they would receive from the FA if they advance through the competition, and a dispute has broken out on the eve of the team’s departure for the tournament on Wednesday. It is known that the FA’s commercial partners may still step in with additional money to reward performances, as has previously done with both the male and female England squads, even if no more discussions are scheduled between the governing body and the players’ representation.
FIFA has altered the regulations for this World Cup in an effort to assure that every participant, regardless of their nation of origin, would get the same compensation as their rivals who advance to the same level of the competition. Accordingly, incentives are predetermined for each round, with all players getting £24,000 for being eliminated in the group round and £213,000 for winning the World Cup. The choice of how much of the prize monies would be distributed among the players has historically been left up to the national discretion because prize money has traditionally been provided directly to individual associations. That’s not the situation anymore.
Therefore, for the first time, regardless of how well the team plays, the English FA stands to lose money at the 2018 World Cup due to the expenses related to hotels, travel, equipment, and other support personnel. However, the England Women bound for the World Cup feel betrayed by the FA’s unwillingness to pay for further bonuses themselves rather than delegating the task to FIFA. In comparison to four years ago, the ladies will make an average of 60% more money for participating in the 2018 World Cup. Rewards for failing to advance past the group rounds this time around are 300 percent more compared to 2019 and 700 percent higher compared to 2015.
When traveling for England, the men’s team customarily donates its victory bonuses to charity. It may be claimed that because these players make far more money from domestic contracts and commercial endorsements than the women do, they can more readily afford to be generous with their England bonuses.
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