Canada Soccer has been asked to provide a copy of its agreement with Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage by Friday.
The Heritage Committee has already received copies of Canada Soccer’s board minutes dating back to January 2018. The request for additional board minutes was added to the motion, which passed without objection.
NDP MP Peter Julian has asked that Canada Soccer provide board minutes from 2017 “as part of the issue of getting to the bottom of what’s transpired with Canada Soccer.”
The Canadian men and women’s national soccer teams are both negotiating new collective bargaining agreements with the governing body. The women are demanding the same backing in preparing for this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that the men received last year before Qatar.
The Canadian men briefly boycotted a planned friendly against Panama last June in Vancouver because of the labour impasse, and the women briefly went on strike before the recent SheBelieves Cup in Florida but were forced back onto the pitch by threats of legal action by Canada Soccer. Nick Bontis resigned as Canada Soccer president on Monday, acknowledging “this moment requires change.”
CSB essentially markets Canada’s soccer product, on the field and off, via broadcast and sponsorship agreements. It pays the governing body a set amount each year with the rest helping fund the Canadian Premier League.
The “representation agreement” with Canada Soccer was for a 10-year term. CSB CEO Mark Noonan, who doubles as the Canadian Premier League commissioner, says it could last a further five years via a possible extension.
Canada Soccer, which does not hold an ownership stake in CSB, is reportedly receiving $3 million to $4 million a year currently under the deal as “the beneficiary of a rights fee guarantee.”
The Canadian women are asking Canada Soccer to open its books, including its deal with Canadian Soccer Business, and explain the cuts being made to both the men’s and women’s programs this year. Canada Soccer has repeatedly said that pay equity will be a pillar of the new labour deal.
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