FA to build Wembley statue of England’s Lionesses after World Cup and Euros heroics

The Football Association has revealed {that a} plan is already in place following Euro 2022 for a statue of the England workforce shut to Wembley Stadium.

If England beat a wonderful Spanish aspect at Stadium Australia in Sunday’s World Cup ultimate, any statue might need to characteristic two trophies, given their European triumph final summer season. FA CEO Mark Bullingham revealed that the governing physique was already in discussions concerning the design, as it might sit within the footprint of Wembley Stadium.

“In terms of statues, it’s something we are looking at post-Euros. We’ve made progress on that, and it would be right to have something to commemorate that success outside Wembley. It would be the whole team.

“Our starting point was more for plans around a collective, but we’ll see what design ideas come up. And you can imagine the iconic images that came out of the Euros. There’s some brilliant things which could be produced. Our starting point is that it’s a brilliant team.

“We’ve made progress with the discussions, but I don’t think we can announce any more than that yet. You have to go through various permissions – we’ve gone through that. The next stage is working on the design. I don’t know the timescale because it’s not in our hands, it’s obviously related to Brent Council. I’m not sure I can give you an answer on that.”

Bullingham in the meantime mentioned talks nonetheless had to happen concerning the bonuses the gamers will obtain – one thing their success in Australia has already modified – however claimed that the preliminary delay was down to Fifa saying new prize cash stipulations simply earlier than they travelled. “We’re sorting it after the tournament. I think they have a very strong case before, a very strong case after, but the reality is, there’s a discussion to be had. There wasn’t a lot of time before the tournament; Fifa announced the prize money very late, and a completely different model that led to a different type of discussion, so it just means there wasn’t a lot of time. It’s more time being an issue rather than anything else.

“It wasn’t an issue on bargaining position, it was more an issue on time and working through this new model, so I think we’ll get to a good resolution.

“Bonuses is always a percentage of prize money, that’s always the model. I think there are lots of discussions to be had with them, but we’ve invested heavily in them and the women’s game, and we want that to continue growing. We’ve got the opportunity to have some really interesting discussions after the tournament.”

Sources shut to the squad would insist that these discussions nonetheless have a way to go, because the FA has not moved on its place of having a bonus construction on prime of Fifa prize cash. The gamers additionally really feel there was nonetheless loads of time, as illustrated by the best way through which senior FA figures didn’t get entangled “until the last minute”. There have been no additional discussions in the course of the World Cup, as all have needed to give attention to attempting to win the event.