Ivorian and Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha has agreed to make "a substantial financial contribution" to support the development of the club women's team.

 Earlier in the week, The Guardian had reported that players of the reserve team were told to raise £250 each in sponsorship in order to remain with the FA Women's Championship side.

An official statement from the English outfit has described the report as "inaccurate", while thanking Zaha who signed a new deal worth £130,000 weekly last month for his kind gesture.

"Everyone knows what Crystal Palace means to Wilf and he wants to give the same opportunities to the next generation of aspiring players at Palace Ladies that he enjoyed when coming up through junior teams," the statement said.

"Our senior squad currently consists of 21 players, all of whom are contracted to Palace Ladies and either receive a wage or are paid expenses.

"This is made possible by the substantial financial support we receive from Crystal Palace Football Club and our principal sponsor, Utilita Energy, who are committed supporters of the women's game and are backing Palace Ladies for the third consecutive season.

"Our budget and business and marketing plans were clearly set out in our application to join the FA Women's Championship; in common with many other clubs, we encourage players to seek personal sponsorship to help raise the club's profile and build links with the business community, but it is not a condition of playing for Palace Ladies.

"All our other teams operate on an amateur basis and, as with any grass-roots membership club, players pay an annual subscription fee. To help the development of our reserve team players, we have heavily subsidised their annual membership fees.

"We are grateful for Wilf's support and for the ongoing support of Crystal Palace Football Club and Utilita Energy, which enables our senior team to play in the FA Women's Championship," it ended.

The 25 years old winger has so far netted two goals after four round of matches this season as Crystal Palace are placed 15th on Premier League standing.

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