The Canadian women’s soccer team has stated that there is still “a lot of work to be done” to achieve labor peace despite the recently announced interim funding agreement with Canada Soccer.
The women contend that the agreement in principle “does not solve the deeper issues around pay equity and equalization of supports and resources across the national teams.” They demand proper funding for the women’s national team program and the youth national program.
The funding agreement announced Thursday mirrors the interim deal with the men’s team for appearance fees and results-based bonuses, with Canada Soccer calling it “a bridge deal to get us to a collectively bargained agreement.”
The women’s existing labor agreement expired at the end of 2021, and they briefly took job action before last month’s SheBelieves Cup. While the team has agreed to play in the April FIFA window, their participation is dependent on “meaningful progress being made with respect to a number of bargaining issues.”
Sixth-ranked Canada is set to play No. 5 France on April 11 in Le Mans in the penultimate FIFA window before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The women want the same backing and preparation that the men’s team received before the World Cup in Qatar last year, including the same travel and staff.
The women also want Canada Soccer to open its books and explain why both programs are being cut in 2023, given the success of the two teams on and off the field.
The women say they have been told Canada Soccer won’t run camps in all of the FIFA windows for 2023, and that the scheduled camps will be shorter and involve fewer players than usual.
The women’s existing labor agreement expired at the end of 2021, while the men are working on their first formal deal, having banded together as the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association last year. The women organized under the Canadian Soccer Players’ Association in 2016.
The players have called on Canada Soccer to open a dialogue with them before the next permanent president is chosen.
Former Olympian Charmaine Crooks has been named Canada Soccer’s interim president, with Kelly Brown named interim vice-president. The women expressed disappointment with Crooks’ appointment, as she has always appeared to the players to be closely allied with former president Nick Bontis.
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