Lucy Bronze: England can be team to lead way in women's football
- Published
England bounced back from their Women's World Cup final defeat by Spain with victory over Scotland
Lucy Bronze says England can be a team that "lead the way" in women's football after successfully negotiating an agreement with the Football Association on performance-related bonuses.
Lionesses captain Millie Bright revealed an agreement had been reached before the Women's Nations League victory over Scotland on Friday.
Bronze was part of the leadership group that held talks with the FA.
"It's something that the USA have been doing for many years," said Bronze.
"Now England are a team that are able to lead the way as well. We want to set the standard on and off the pitch to help other countries to be able to set the standard."
Right-back Bronze, 31, added: "We're happy to have been able to draw a line on the bonuses and move forward with the FA and the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association], making sure we are challenging women's football."
European champions England had been frustrated a deal with the FA was not agreed before talks were put on hold during the Women's World Cup.
Players for some rival nations including Australia, Spain and the USA were set to receive bonuses after the tournament, but England were not.
This year, for the first time at a Women's World Cup, players received individual payments directly from Fifa.
England's agreement with the FA is another example of them successfully challenging governing bodies.
After winning Euro 2022, England's players wrote a letter to the government which resulted in funding for further opportunities for girls in school sport.
The USA, who won back-to-back world titles in 2015 and 2019, have previously been successful in agreeing equal pay after a legal dispute with US Soccer.
England are next in action on Tuesday when they take on the Netherlands in the Women's Nations League in Utrecht at 19:00 BST.