Canada Women’s National Team Reach Interim Funding Deal

Canada Soccer has finally struck a deal in principle with the Canadian women’s national team on compensation for 2022.

While this is a first step for both the men’s and women’s teams, the process has not reached its final conclusion in the ongoing labour negotiations.

Canada Soccer has yet to finish a deal with the men’s team on labour peace.

The news was released on early Thursday evening and Canada Soccer released a statement on the agreement.

“This is about respect, this is about dignity, and this is about equalizing the competitive environment in a world that is fundamentally unequal,” Canada Soccer general secretary Earl Cochrane said in the statement. “We have been consistent and public about the need to have fairness and equal pay be pillars of any new agreements with our players, and we are delivering on that today.”

“While this is an important step forward, and it signals progress, there is still more work to do to ensure both of our national programs are given the necessary resources and supports to prepare and compete.”

See Also: ‘Frustrated, Appalled, And Heartbroken’: CanWNT Opens Up About Canada Soccer Dispute

No financial terms were disclosed, but it looks like the women will get similar to what the men got last year when they prepared and went to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

There are other issues at hand like pay equity, and they also want Canada Soccer to open up its books and be completely transparent which was also requested by the men’s team. The House of Commons has called upon Canada Soccer to provide transparency in that regard.

The women’s deal expired in 2021 while the men are still working on their first official deal with Canada Soccer.

On a historic day for Canada Soccer after Nick Bontis resigned, Charmaine Crooks – a former Olympian – was named as acting president. An election will be held in May to determine who finishes Bontis’ term which expires in summer 2024.

“A real and meaningful change to Canada Soccer’s strategy is needed – one that puts the sport and its players first,” the statement added. “Canada Soccer’s next president must share the national teams’ commitment to fully capitalizing on this moment in Canadian soccer, and ensuring our national teams and youth programs have the resources and support they need to compete on the world stage for years to come.”

The issue has now risen to a political level and now both Canada Soccer and the players will testify before the Heritage committee with the players scheduled for March 9th, and both Nick Bontis and Earl Cochrane on March 20th.

The task at hand discovering this deal with Canada Soccer Business which handles all the media and broadcasting rights for Canada Soccer and they demanded the minutes from a board meeting back in 2017.

The men’s team boycotted an international friendly against Panama last summer in Vancouver and the women have clearly stated if a deal isn’t reached by April they will strike for real this time.

They attempted to strike at the SheBelieves Cup in the US but after only one day they were forced back to the pitch under threat of legal action from Canada Soccer.