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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Sarina Wiegman future up in the air as FA plan contract talks after Women’s World Cup

Sarina Wiegman was coy on her future beyond the end of her contract in 2025 and avoided answering whether she would like to manage England at the next World Cup in 2027.

Wiegman's deal expires after Euro 2025, but the FA are hoping to tie her down to a new long-term contract.

The 53-year-old Dutch coach last week dismissed links to the vacant USA job and has vowed to honour her contract.

But, after a second consecutive World Cup Final defeat, having lost in 2019 with Holland, she avoided questions over her long-term future.

(PA)

"Four years is a long time," she said. "We have a very short turnaround, but we'll start in September with Scotland and the Netherlands in the Nations League to qualify for the Olympics.

"You want to improve all the time. That's what I see, this group of players are so eager to be successful, so every next moment we want to grab [the opportunity] and be better. Growth is one of the things that is really into this team."

Contract talks with Wiegman are a priority for the FA, who are also due to hold discussions with the England squad about the performance-related bonus dispute with the players.

Dialogue was paused after the players wrote an open letter before the tournament to say they had failed to reach an agreement with the FA and were "disappointed" that the issue had not been resolved.

The squad were flying back home from Australia today and the players are due time off before joining up with their clubs for the new Women's Super League season.

After a break, the Lionesses will hold talks with the FA, where it is understood wider topics, such as player commercial contracts, will also be discussed.

Players have at times been frustrated by the FA's commercial strategy, as they feel it can limit their ability to earn extra payments from sponsorship and marketing opportunities.

For the first time at a Women's World Cup, tournament prize money is being paid directly to players rather than given to national associations to distribute among squads.

After reaching the final, England's players are set to receive $195,000 (£153,000) each.

Each player is also due to receive a five-figure bonus from an FA commercial partner for reaching yesterday's Sydney showpiece.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham is confident that an agreement can be struck over bonuses.

"[The players] were in a strong position before and in a strong position now," he said last week. "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."

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