Lionesses to be handed record £1.7m bonus package if they win Euro 2025
The FA has agreed a record bonus package with England's Lionesses worth up to £1.7million if they defend their European Championship title this summer.
The Guardian revealed in March that negotiations over the players' bonuses had reached an impasse, risking a repeat of the stand-off that disrupted their preparations for the 2023 World Cup, but the discussions have now concluded with Sarina Weigman's squad believed to be happy with the outcome.
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The FA is understood to have increased their 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 precise amount paid to each player will depend on appearances and minutes played, the average bonus on offer if England win the tournament is around £73,000, more than £18,000 more than they received following their historic triumph at Wembley three years ago.
A source involved in the process told The Guardian that while the negotiations had been difficult all parties were satisfied with the end result, particularly the fact that it was resolved before the squad met up at St George's Park to begin their European Championship preparations this week. The squad meet-up has been somewhat overshadowed by the shock announcement of Mary Earps' international retirement, with the FA relieved that another potential distraction in bonus talks has been removed.
A dispute about bonuses 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.
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The FA eventually agreed to pay bonuses, although the matter was only resolved the month after they returned from the tournament, where Weigman's side 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 made available to the 16 competing nations to £34m, with the winners to receive £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 are donated to charities, but bonus payments remain far apart due to the differing levels of prize money on offer in men's and women's tournaments. Gareth Southgate's squad would have shared a bonus pot of about £14m for example, had they won last summer's European Championship final against Spain.
England begin their Euro 2025 build-up with a Uefa 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 Weigman's side start the defence of the European title with a difficult game against France on 5 July before further group games against the Netherlands and Wales.
The FA declined to comment.
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