Bronze insists bonus row "is not about figures" ahead of World Cup
Lucy Bronze insists that the Lionesses ongoing dispute with the Football Association over Women's World Cup bonuses is not simply about hitting a particular financial figure.
England face Haiti in their opening game at the tournament on Saturday, but their build-up has been overshadowed by the FA's decision not to pay players extra money on top of the funds dished out by FIFA. The team released a statement on the eve of the finals, via stand-in captain Millie Bright on Tuesday, confirming they had agreed to postpone discussions with the FA regarding the bonuses until the end of the tournament.
While Bronze insisted that the team won't be distracted once the football gets underway, the Barcelona and England star admitted it was "super sad" that a resolution was yet to be reached.
"It hasn't take our attention away, we have managed the situation very well," said Bronze. "Even Sarina (Wiegman) has said that. Our focus is solely on training and we've been focused on meetings.
"We have managed our team perfectly. We just want to push the game further, with every single tournament. People are likely to focus on the numbers, but we are focused on the principle of how we can grow the game.
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"We want to keep pushing our own standards, but also our federations' standards, the FIFA and UEFA standards. It isn't just about the numbers. It is the principle of what we want to improve in women's football.
"There is always another step the game can take. Whether that is commercial, on the pitch or off the pitch, whether it is performance based or not. It is about being rewarded for what we have done - we are the European Champions."
Lucy Bronze and her teammates are now in Brisbane preparing for their World Cup openerBronze is one of the senior players in the England side, after first bursting onto the scene back in 2015 at her first World Cup in Canada, where the Lionesses finished third. And she insisted that England aren't yet contemplating a player strike or withdrawing their labour for future games.
A number of sides competing at the World Cup this summer have been, or are still involved, in disputes with their own national federations. Spain will have some of their top players missing after a player mutiny following the Euros last summer, while Jamaica have accused their own FA of not supporting their preparations.
Meanwhile, tournament hosts Australia recently released a video calling on football's governing bodies to further invest in the women's game, to ensure the finals leave a lasting legacy. England have Nations League fixtures in September, but according to Bronze the dialogue with the FA on the situation remains healthy.
"I don't think we made any threats as players," the Barcelona full-back added. "I think we're quite well spoken. And we know how to kind of stand our ground – I can't say the conversations ever got to be that heated.
"You know, we've set out bullet points of what we want to achieve as a team, how we can help change the game. I think that (the FA) equally have their own kind of standard of things that they think can be done to change the game to push this team on.
"But I think we are in a more fortunate position than many other nations because we kind of have a good relationship with our federation where we're able to openly speak to them and challenge them - they challenge us and we challenge them to improve our game. It's about finding a solution for both of us.
"So I wouldn't like to say, but I'm pretty sure that we'll find solutions. And it'll never get to the point that potentially other teams have - to go down that kind of route (withdrawing from future fixtures)"
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