We’re the last generation of Lionesses to need part-time jobs

Lucy Bronze and a number of the older players in England’s Euro 2022 winning squad had to work part-time to support their early football careers, but she has declared they will be the last generation to do so because of the steps towards further professionalism in the women’s game.

Bronze worked at a Headingley branch of Domino’s while studying at Leeds Beckett University and also playing for Everton and Liverpool in the WSL.

Ellen White, meanwhile, had a 9-5 job when she played for Arsenal in her early twenties and would go to the gym before work, before also then training in the evenings.

Their past experience isn’t unique within the current England setup for players of a certain age. It was in 2009 that the FA began awarding central contracts, while WSL clubs didn’t universally turn fully professional until much more recently in 2018.

The younger players in the England squad and the next generation of national team stars won’t have to endure the same juggling act thanks to the professional era at the highest level.

“We’ve had full-time teachers who’ve played for England. I think we’re the last generation that will have to do that. I worked at Domino’s while playing professionally,” Bronze told OK! magazine.

But even now, for players outside the England squad, including those on smaller professional contracts in the WSL, the need to work to top up earnings with extra jobs still exists.

“I think outside of the England team, women still have to work,” Bronze added.

“[England players] are quite well supported by the FA. A lot of our players still study but that’s not necessarily because they have to, it’s because you have to think about a career after football. We don’t make enough money to just put our feet up on the beach afterwards and retire.

“A lot of players in the WSL still work another job and a lot of players have given up as there’s more money being a teacher. It’s a lot of stress trying to manage being a footballer with a regular job.

“It is frustrating. It’s not something we’ll ever get used to. We’re painted to be professional sports people and you play in leagues where the perception is that everyone is professional, but if everyone was professional the standard would go up.

“Not everyone from other countries in the Euros are professional players – imagine what we could do if everyone was, and what that would do for their quality of life.”

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