The Rugby Football Union will reintroduce contracts for their England women’s 15-a-side players to make them fully professional.
Twenty-eight full-time deals will be available from 1 January, along with seven elite player squad agreements.
Contracts were previously awarded based on the next major tournament.
“We are at a tipping point for women’s rugby globally and it is our ambition to be world number one and drive growth,” RFU boss Steve Brown said.
“We are very much behind this and want to see the continued expansion and growth to realise the ambitious targets we have set ourselves.”
Brown told BBC Sport in July that it was their “ambition” to award full-time contracts in both formats of the game this season. Read more