£40 wage angers England women

England women's footballers have criticised the Football Association after getting just �40 a day for the five weeks at the World Cup in China.

The team reached the quarter-finals but players claim fitness levels are now suffering as they work extra hours to claw back wages lost from their jobs.

"Two months back from China, people are still working to recoup the money," said Chelsea striker Eniola Aluko.

An FA spokesman said investment in the women's game had never been higher.

Interview: England's Eniola Aluko Montage: England's Women's World Cup

Aluko maintains the women are not asking to be paid the same as the men but to receive similar financial help to their counterparts in the United States and Sweden.

"We all feel the same, that we don't feel respected. Players had to take unpaid leave and some are now not able to sustain training because they don't have the time because of the money lost in China," said the 20-year-old.

"We are all grateful that we went to the World Cup but realistically we can't sustain the level of progress because of employment issues.

"Our fitness levels that were tested at the last camp were significantly lower than they were at the World Cup in China," she added.

The FA said its investment in girls' and women's football, from grassroots to the elite teams, is �4.5m a year.

"In the 14 years since the FA has run women's football, the budget has never been bigger," added the spokesman.

The England player's comments come on the same day as the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation conference, which is being opened by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The WSFF wants a public debate on how to engage women in physical activity.

It says many women currently feel under more pressure to be thin than healthy and are put off exercise from an early age - typically by school sport.

And women desperately need greater sporting role models than the wives and girlfriends of football stars, it says.

Source: BBC Sport