Canada celebrates a goal by Christine Sinclair during second half soccer action against Nigeria during the national team celebration tour in Langford, B.C., on April 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
The strike is on.
The Canadian women’s soccer boycotted training Saturday ahead of emergency talks with Canada Soccer in Florida. And captain Christine Sinclair says the team won’t take the field until the governing body responds to their grievances.
“Until things move forward, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But we’re not playing,” Sinclair told The Canadian Press.
Sinclair says the “non-negotiables” include seeing the budget breakdown from last year as well as a compensation offer. She says Canada Soccer took its last offer off the table, saying it had to be restructured.
Canada Soccer traditionally publishes its financials in March. But Sinclair says the women’s team can’t negotiate in the dark – without knowing what was spent on the men’s team.
In 2021, Canada Soccer says it spent $11 million on the men’s team and $5.1 on the women.
The women are scheduled to meet Saturday with Canada soccer president Nick Bontis, general secretary Earl Cochrane and the governing body’s legal counsel.
The clock is ticking with the Canadian women, the current Olympic champions and sixth-ranked team in the world, slated to take on the top-ranked U.S. next Thursday to kick off the four-team SheBelieves Cup in Orlando.
The women took part in two training sessions in Florida – with some wearing their shirts inside out as a protest – before deciding to take job action Friday.
Sinclair says the men’s team is solidly behind the women. Both sides are upset at budget cuts to their programs – and what they say is lack of financial transparency by Canada Soccer.
“We’re fighting for the future of this program,” said Sinclair.
The men boycotted a planned friendly with Panama in Vancouver last June over the labour dispute.
Both sides are currently negotiating labour agreements with Canada Soccer. The women’s previous deal expired at the end of 2021.
The men are negotiating their first formal agreement in the wake of forming their own players association, the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association.
The women have their own group, the Canadian Soccer Players’ Association.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2023
