The Scotland women's football team will receive "100%" of the seven-figure sum generated by reaching the 2019 World Cup to aid its preparations, Scottish FA Performance Dir Malky Mackay said, according to Alasdair Lamont of the BBC. Manager Shelley Kerr's side was drawn alongside England, Japan and Argentina in Group D. Mackay said that he will "do everything in his power to ensure Kerr and her squad have every chance of success." He said, "I want to make sure she gets exactly what she needs. Financially there's big backing for it as well. There's the £700,000 ($880,000) from FIFA for actually getting there and then there's another £400,000 ($502,000) in terms of prep events. So that allows us to go to the Algarve Cup and make sure that between January and June, every month Shelley's got a real good prep event that really is tailored the way she wants it" (BBC, 12/10). In Scotland, Gary Ralston reported it is the first time the Scottish women’s side has qualified for the World Cup and "follows hard on the heels of their European Championship appearance last year." However, the run up to that competition "was marred by a row over pay, conditions and a lack of support from the SFA that led to Anna Signeul’s players imposing a media blackout" (DAILY RECORD, 12/10).
