The Canadian men’s soccer team has fired another salvo in its continuing labour battle with Canada Soccer, accusing the governing body of “attempting to capitalize on the Women’s World Cup to force us into an inadequate deal.”
The statement by the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association was released on social media on the eve of Wednesday’s showdown in Perth, Australia, between Canada and Ireland at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Canada captain Christine Sinclair said going into the soccer showcase in Australia and New Zealand that the Olympic champion women wanted an interim agreement covering compensation at this World Cup done in advance of the opening kickoff so they could focus on soccer.
And while that deal has yet to be confirmed, Sinclair has said it is all but done and the women are concentrating on their on-field mission.
The men are not satisfied, however.
“Unfortunately Canada Soccer has reduced its offers from one proposal to the next despite receiving no additional or higher demands from the national team players,” the men’s statement says.
The men say Canada Soccer wants to keep approximately 70 per cent of combined World Cup prize money “while simultaneously demanding that we agree to reduce our per game compensation dramatically, by as much as 75 per cent.
“Shockingly, to date, the men’s national team players have not been paid anything for their participation in the 2022 World Cup eight months ago.”
The men say their “highly reasonable proposal” would allow Canada Soccer to retain between $8.9-million and $14.1-million from the combined prize pool of the men’s and women’s World Cups.
The Canadian men’s team earned US$9-million from FIFA as one of the teams exiting after the group stage in Qatar. FIFA says, under its new compensation package at the women’s tournament, member associations will receive from US$1.56-million for a team exiting after the group stage to US$4.29-million for the champion.
The men also say they have sent cease-and-desist orders to Canada Soccer sponsors over the “unauthorized use of our names, images and likenesses.”