Jun 6, 2022
Canada's men's soccer players announce they will resume training
The Canadian men’s national soccer team announced on Monday that they will return to training in preparation for the road to Qatar. The team notes that they have not reached an agreement with the Canadian Soccer Association, though they have met with the senior leaders of Canada Soccer and will continue the negotiation process.
TSN.ca Staff
The Canadian men’s national soccer team announced on Monday that they will return to training in preparation for the road to Qatar.
The team notes that they have not reached an agreement with the Canadian Soccer Association, though they have met with the senior leaders of Canada Soccer and will continue the negotiation process.
Canada Soccer also released a statement on Monday and indicated that future meetings have been scheduled towards a resolution.
The announcements come a day after the CanMNT’s friendly against Panama at Vancouver’s BC Place was cancelled when the team refused to play because of a dispute over compensation. The team had also refused to train on the previous two days.
On Sunday evening, the CanMNT released a lengthy statement through Twitter, asking for several changes to the current arrangement including changes to the governing body’s leadership, a "comprehensive friends and family package" for this fall’s World Cup in Qatar and 40 per cent of World Cup prize money.
The players also called for the development of a domestic women’s league and an equitable compensation outline for the CanMNT and CanWNT.
But the women’s senior team pushed back against the idea noting that, while they welcomed discussion and saw the men’s proposal as a “positive step,” they did not consider equal FIFA percentages to be equal pay.
"The women's national team will not accept an agreement that does not offer equal pay," a statement read.
Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis held a press conference Sunday night in Vancouver where he called the players’ demands financially unfeasible.
"My job as president is a responsibility to the fiduciary and stable health of this organization, not just for the last 120 years that we've been alive, but for the next 100 years we're going to be alive," Bontis said. "And I can't accept that offer that will put our organization in a financial position that is untenable."
Canada is still scheduled for a CONCACAF Nations League match on Thursday in Vancouver against Curacao. Should the team fail to play that game, it would be subject to a fine from FIFA.