Although women’s football has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years, it remains a world apart from the men’s game in terms of the money on offer. Players in the Women’s Super League typically earn between £30,000 and £400,000 per year, with some on the lower end of the scale being forced to work second jobs in order to make ends meet.

Express Sport takes a look at the current England squad and their jobs outside of football ahead of the Women’s World Cup final…

Lucy Bronze

Lucy Bronze has been in the England setup from the age of 16 but needed another job to support herself in the early stages of her career. The 31-year-old balanced football with her studies at Leeds Beckett University and worked at a Headingley branch of pizza chain Domino’s at the same time.

She told The Telegraph in 2017 that she thought about quitting football due to injuries and financial problems, saying: “I thought: ‘OK, I might have to stop and think about getting a proper job’. I had huge debt and repeated knee injuries and was hobbling around on crutches for a year. I missed almost two-and-a-half years of games.

“All my friends were overtaking me, and I was working in a bar at a five-a-side centre in Leeds and then in a Domino’s Pizza. I mastered all the skills of the pizza business.”

Football eventually worked out well for Bronze and her former Domino’s branch was renamed Lucy’s in her honour following England’s historic Euros triumph last year.

Bethany England

Bethany England was spinning three plates during her first year in the WSL, working in a Barnsley fish and chip shop while studying at college and playing for the Doncaster Belles. She initially earned just £150 per month from football, leading her to take several other jobs such as working in a bakery, a factory, an Indian restaurant and an M&S.

“I ended up working for three-and-a-half years in a chippy, doing night shifts on a Friday and Saturday,” she revealed earlier this year.

The Lionesses forward also explained that she now studies law in preparation for life after football, saying: “I’ve always been interested in law. I used to watch CSI, Criminal Minds and Law & Order with my mum, but I’m really interested in the family side of things and I would eventually like to work in family law.

“I never thought football would be a full-time job, so I always knew education would have to come into it. After football you need to make sure you have something set up, ready for that transition.”

Millie Bright

Millie Bright has come a long way from holding down two jobs and playing semi-professionally to hitting the big time with Chelsea and England. She was another product of the Doncaster Belles and previously split her time between football, working in a leisure centre and another job at a local stable.

“I was a fitness instructor at a leisure centre, a horse groom and I had to manage my football on top of that,” said Bright in 2019. “It was hard but I had to juggle everything in semi-pro, but that’s what happens in women’s football.

“Some players are lucky enough to start with a professional contract but some have started with nothing, doing two and three jobs, fighting to be professional, so that’s why my proudest moment was signing my first contract for Chelsea because I never thought that would happen.”

Mary Earps

England goalkeeper Mary Earps is up there with the safest hands in the women’s game but previously juggled several part-time jobs to raise enough petrol money to train. She used to work in a cinema, a toy shop and even for her dad’s company, while she also took two coaching jobs to fund her travel costs.

“I had quite a few jobs to pay for my boots and petrol, basically,” said Earps. “I used to get expenses with Doncaster but there was no real money in the game back then. At first I had not passed my driving test so I was relying on my local team-mates for help.

“There was a girl who even drove from Southampton up to Doncaster and used to pick me up on the way. It is mad how the game has changed since then.”

Leah Williamson

Leah Williamson is not in the England squad at the Women’s World Cup due to injury but would ordinarily be a key member of the Lionesses side. She is currently undertaking a part-time course in accountancy through the FA ahead of a career change when she eventually decides to hang up her boots.

“You should dedicate your life to football,” Williamson told City AM in 2020. “I have to, I’m an athlete, but it shouldn’t be everything, the be-all and end-all. I do it [studying] to keep some sort of balance, always doing something outside of football.

“But also, I’m under no illusions that I’m not going to be able to retire at the end of my career and be fine for the rest of my life. I will have to work again and maybe that’s where I have come in [to the sport] just a little too early, in terms of hopefully one day these girls will earn enough that they are set for life.

“If a boy signs for an academy aged 16 he is generally set for life. It’s a massive contrast in our game and I’m aware of that. It’s ridiculous to think that once your career finishes you are going to be fine and set.”

Want the latest Premier League news as we publish it on Express Sport? Join our Facebook group by clicking here.