Cal Gaunt
The pay England’s triumphant Lionesses will receive for winning Euro 2022 has been criticised.
The FA and the players had agreed a winners’ bonus of £55,000 – which is thought to be around the same amount Cristiano Ronaldo is paid per day at Manchester United.
Last week, a spokesperson for Women In Sport said: “Why shouldn’t we ask for equal prize money and pay? We are already seeing this across tennis and cricket.
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“This expresses and demonstrates the value that these teams bring to sport.
“Increased investment is vital across every level of women’s sport.
“For girls to realise their aspirations they need a place to do this on their doorsteps.
“This should be the legacy of the Euros.”
In contrast, England’s men were allegedly set for a bonus of £300,000 had they beaten Italy in last summer’s final.
One Twitter user said: “I love this argument. It’s intended to suggest that it’s the women’s fault for not being interesting enough to draw large crowds, as opposed to the fault of a misogynistic society that held the women’s game back for decades.”
Another said: “It’s not fair. Women have been getting ripped off for years. We got a long way to go.”
A third added: “Nowhere near enough for them and let’s be honest and say that they’re showing this current men’s team how to actually go win games.
“So, they should be given the same amount because they’ll probably win unlike the men’s team.”
A spokesperson for the FA responded to the criticism, telling Reuters: “The FA pays its women’s players exactly the same as their male counterparts for representing England, both in terms of match fees and match bonuses. This parity has been in place since January 2020.”
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It has also been reported that Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman earns more than £4million less than her male counterpart, Gareth Southgate.
Although there are issues still to be debated off the grass, the Lionesses showed courage and quality to land their first ever major trophy – and England’s first since 1966 – beating Germany after extra-time on Sunday.
Super-subs Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly got on the scoresheet and their coach was full of praise for the whole team after a historic match.
She said: “It was so tight but who cares. We won 2-1 and we are European champions.
“If you really want to win and become better every single day, that’s what I have noticed the whole year. It’s been incredible.
“We agreed a couple of things on behaviours, they weren’t just words, we lived it. And this is the result.”
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