England manager Sarina Wiegman insisted she has not waded into a rumoured row surrounding World Cup bonuses.
Wiegman’s side open their campaign in earnest on July 22 when they face Haiti in Brisbane, but they will first take on FIFA world number-seven ranked Olympic champions Canada behind closed doors on Friday at Queensland’s Sunshine Coast stadium.
Some reports ahead of England’s arrival Down Under claimed the Lionesses were unhappy with the Football Association about performance-based payments, but Wiegman was adamant it has not been a topic of discussion in camp.
“Players haven’t spoken to me about it,” she told Sky Sports. “We’ve been focusing on football and that is what I have seen.
“They’re focused on football in meetings. I don’t see any problems. I know that it is something that needs to be solved and I hope for a quick solution.
“I am not involved in those discussions. I hope it’s solved quickly before the tournament starts.”
Under a new model, players will receive payments directly from FIFA, with amounts increasing the deeper teams go in the tournament. They range from 30,000 US dollars (£23,367) per athlete for the group stage to USD 270,000 (£210,305) allotted to each champion.
Previously, it was up to individual national governing bodies to decide how money was allocated. Some federations have agreed to additional payments in 2023, though multiple reports have suggested the FA has no current plans to do the same.
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