Chelsea and England defender Millie Bright believes women's football won't become more diverse overnight but is pleased changes are being made to open up the sport.
Bright's Chelsea manager Emma Hayes made headlines at the weekend when she called out the diversity in the game stating that, "women's football is quite middle class in my opinion, in terms of the locations, and the pedigree of players that are coming are often coming from suburban, urban belts around the training grounds."
The FA have recently announced plans for a revamped women’s and girls’ player pathway with the aim of ensuring players from any part of the country are given the best opportunity to develop.
Bright, 29, was asked for her views on the issue ahead of England's game against Belgium in the Arnold Clark Cup on Wednesday and stated that she believes the problem around diversity is being addressed.
"I think for us it is something (the diversity issue) where so many factors need to be addressed," Bright added. "We have addressed it and changes are in place. It is not something that is going to happen overnight so I don't think you can put a timeframe on it. It is nice knowing that changes have been made.
"And it is nice to know that things are in place so things can be more diverse in the future."
In addition to the issues surrounding social class, England's Euro 2022 winning squad contained only three black players - a factor which has been a hot topic of debate. Jess Carter, Nikita Parris and Demi Stokes were all named in the squad, though none of whom were part of the regular starting eleven.
Bright was part of Wiegman's regular team line-up during the Euros and is expected to take her place in the heart of the Lionesses defence at the World Cup this summer. Her England manager Sarina Wiegman said on the issue of diversity: "You are not going to get change overnight. Over the last few weeks the FA and Kay Cossington have launched an improved pathway.
"This is about performance but also inclusivity, diversity and accessibility. Hopefully in the future, we will get very good players that is more representative of the diversity of our community."
Wiegman remains unbeaten as England boss, two games into 2023. However, she is expecting a tough test from a Belgium side who failed to qualify for the World Cup but were good value in their wins over Italy and South Korea, to set up a decider.
"They (Belgium) have played well," Wiegman added. "They played really well in the Euros too and just missed out on the World Cup. They have an organised style of play and they have height in the team. They have injuries which is disappointing for them. We expect to be in possession a lot but they can challenge us in moments if we give them the opportunity.
"Italy didn't play too deep but South Korea did. We found good ways to break their lines. I think Belgium is aware of us as we played them before the Euros. They will probably play really compact and make spaces small and we have spoken about that with the players."
