Lucy Bronze portrayed the Lionesses as a collective of highly empowered players who actively commit themselves to driving progress in the game.Their recent announcement, declaring a temporary break in talks with the Football Association concerning performance-related bonuses and commercial strategy for the Women’s World Cup, marked the first instance where they collectively conveyed a message on their own behalf.
Lucy Bronze emphasized the team’s empowerment. It is evident not only in their recent statement but also in their actions and unity over the past few weeks.
“We felt it was important that we sent the message out, because there has been some talk, we want to show that we’re focused for the World Cup, that that is our main focus.” The 31-year-old fullback added she was “100% confident” the players would not be distracted by the dispute with the FA.
“Every single one of our players is fully focused on playing in the games and playing great football,” Bronze said. “These conversations happen regularly, they’re just not in the media. They happened before the Euros, and I don’t think it distracted us then because we went on and won it. It’s something that we now have to deal with as footballers, the labels: we’re performing athletes, we’re role models, we’re empowering women around the world, we’re changing society.
“There’s many things that fall under the name of female footballers and we’re fully capable of managing that ourselves … we’re all focused on what our aim is and that is to get to the World Cup final.”
Group of Senior Players
Bronze is part of the group of senior players. It includes injured England captain Leah Williamson – that has been in negotiations with the FA on behalf of the squad.
“We strive to make a difference,” Bronze said. “Although we’re just players who play football, we are pushing to make changes. We want women’s football to be in a better place. It is not just for ourselves but for the future of the game long past when I’m retired.”
The players have expressed their frustration . Frustration regarding the FA’s failure to pay performance-related bonuses that align with the figures set by Fifa. Additionally, there are discussions about the team’s commercial strategy. Moreover , there is an understanding that the FA is more aligned with the players’ perspective.