The Football Association has agreed a record bonus package with England’s Lionesses worth up to £1.7m if they retain their European Championship title this summer.
Negotiations had reached an impasse, risking a repeat of the standoff that disrupted their preparations for the 2023 World Cup, but the discussions have concluded with the squad happy with the outcome.
The FA is understood to have increased its offer, with the £1.7m bonus pot more than double the amount the players received for reaching the World Cup final in Australia two years ago.
While the amount paid to each player will depend on appearances and minutes played, the average bonus on offer if England win the tournament is about £73,000, more than £18,000 above what they received after their triumph at Wembley three years ago.
While the negotiations had been difficult, all parties were satisfied with the result, particularly the fact that it was resolved before the squad met at St George’s Park to begin their European Championship preparations this week. That has been somewhat overshadowed by the announcement of Mary Earps’s international retirement, with the FA relieved that another potential distraction in bonus talks has been removed.
The England defender Ella Morris has withdrawn from the squad after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage in training.
The Tottenham right-back had been hoping to make her senior England debut against Portugal in Friday's Nations League game at Wembley after being included in Sarina Wiegman's squad for the first time.
The 22-year-old will undergo surgery, Tottenham have confirmed.
Morris, who suffered a similar injury aged 17 while at first club Southampton, said on social media she had gone "from the highest high to the lowest low".
She added: "Devastated doesn't even come close. So grateful for the incredible people around me. ACL round 2 - let's go."
Manchester City midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown has been called up to the squad as Morris's replacement. PA Media
A dispute interrupted the Lionesses’ preparations for the World Cup two years ago with the FA initially reluctant to offer performance-related payments after Fifa introduced individual player fees for the first time. The FA agreed to pay bonuses, although the matter was only resolved the month after they returned from the tournament, where England were beaten 1-0 in the final by Spain. The governing body will also cash in if England have a successful tournament this summer as Uefa has more than doubled the prize money available to the 16 competing countries to £34m, with the winners receiving £4.3m.
The FA equalised match fees for the men’s and women’s national teams five years ago with all senior England players receiving about £2,000 a game, which in most cases is donated to charities, but bonus payments remain far apart due to the differing levels of prize money on offer. Gareth Southgate’s squad would have shared a bonus pot of about £14m had they won the European Championship final against Spain last summer.
England begin their Euro 2025 buildup with a Nations League game against Portugal at Wembley on Friday before facing Spain in Barcelona next week. After a friendly against Jamaica in Leicester at the end of next month they start the defence of their European title with a difficult match against France on 5 July before finishing the group phase against the Netherlands and Wales.
The FA declined to comment.
