Canada Soccer hoping philanthropy paves path to financial stability

Canada Soccer chief executive Kevin Blue was on his way to a work dinner in Ottawa early one evening two weeks ago when he received a phone call he’d been waiting on for days.

A wealthy Canadian soccer fan told Blue he was ready to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the federation.

The commitment capped a four-month recruiting process during which Blue and the donor had a half-dozen meetings, spoke on the phone some 15 or 20 times, and exchanged countless messages. While Blue didn’t want to be more specific about the donor or their gift without their permission, he was clear about the significance.

“The skill in this is helping someone connect with what they are passionate in supporting, and it obviously feels great to secure a commitment like that,” Blue said in an interview on Thursday with TSN. “It shows progress that people are stepping forward in meaningful ways.”

Progress off the pitch is something many Canadian soccer fans have been desperate to see from the national federation. Before Blue’s hiring in February 2024, Canada Soccer had been ensnared for several years in controversy and battles for control of money and power.

In March 2023, players on the national women’s soccer team testified in Ottawa before the Heritage Committee about how mismanaged the organization had become. Soccer legend Christine Sinclair testified that players didn’t trust Canada Soccer and said it had a “culture of secrecy and obstruction.”

Two months later, then-federal sports minister Pascale St-Onge criticized Canada Soccer for a lack of financial transparency.

But this seems to be a new era for Canada Soccer.

To this point, after a year on the job, Blue has secured commitments for $8.5 million worth of donations from more than a half-dozen well-to-do Canadians. Negotiations with others are in process, and Canada Soccer plans to reveal details on Monday about the relaunch of Canada Red, the organization's philanthropic effort aimed at attracting more modest annual contributions from Canadian soccer fans who want to support their national teams with tax-deductible donations.

Blue said he believes philanthropy will become a financial cornerstone for the organization.

During one recent meeting held with prospective donors at a Montreal law firm, Blue explained to attendees that their financial gifts would literally help to fuel the success of Canada’s senior and youth national team programs. Men’s national team coach Jesse Marsch – whose Canada Soccer salary was also financed by donors – and national team players Alphonso Davies and Maxime Crepeau also shared their stories.

“It was captivating,” said one person who attended the meeting. “I was ready to sign a cheque that night.”

The numbers back up the importance of the new revenue stream.

Canada Soccer reported a loss of $2.5 million in 2023 after generating $34 million worth of revenue. While it has not published its 2024 financial statements, the organization said in January it lost $4 million in 2024 and that a projected loss of $2.4 million this year would be its final season of financial deficits.

The 42-year-old Blue, who joined Canada Soccer after four years as Golf Canada’s chief sport officer, said that the organization has the goal of using fundraising to help make up “an appreciable percentage” of its overall revenue in future years.

“It is part of the future of how NSOs will be funded in this country,” Blue said, adding that U.S. universities and colleges have become savvy and effective fundraisers. “It culturally hasn't been a part of Canadian sport. I think Canadians have a viewpoint about what is charitable, and many people just haven't put sport in that category.”

Blue said some donors want to do more than simply cut a cheque to the organization. They also want to help to determine how that money is spent. As an example, he said one prospective donor may want their funds to help the organization’s sports science program, while another might want it to help buoy national youth teams or the development of women in elite coaching.

“It’s about helping people to be supportive with their influence, their expertise, their perspectives,” he said. “When there's major gift support in a variety of settings, whether it be athletics, education, or medical, there's a true personal investment the donor is making, so cultivating that is a process that takes time.”

In late fall, Canada Soccer hired Samantha Rogers as vice-president of philanthropy. Following her hiring, the organization has two people – Blue and Rogers – working on fundraising and stewardship. Golf Canada’s foundation, by contrast, has 11 employees listed on its website.

“I've seen old versions of Canada Soccer and in speaking to donors, I think there's a very clear belief this is a new version of the federation and that excites donors,” Rogers said. “With the excitement of the World Cup, we're at an exciting inflection point where this is the perfect storm.  That's why I think we've been able to generate as much philanthropic revenue as we have because of that.”

To be sure, Canada’s philanthropic sector is a juggernaut and it will take time for Canada Soccer to make inroads.

The University of British Columbia, for instance, has a goal of raising $250 million each year. The number of full-time school employees working on gift giving has grown from 40 in the early 2000s to about 200 today, said Sarah Barclay, a senior director of development and alumni engagement in UBC’s athletics department.

Barclay said that while UBC has some staff members involved in crowd funding and letter writing as part of its annual community giving program, the majority of the school’s fundraising revenue comes from donors who give more than $50,000 apiece. It can take 18 months from the time a potential donor is identified to making an ask and then getting their funds in the door, Barclay said.

“I compare it a lot to fishing,” she said. “You have so many lines out there… The most important thing for Canada Soccer will be the messaging and going back after the money is spent and explaining to donors, ‘This is where your money went.’”

One of the major reasons Canada Soccer has struggled in recent years to turn a profit has been a controversial media and sponsorship contract that was signed in 2018.

Blue said he's been in talks with the private company Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) about renegotiating the agreement, which gives the private company, which is owned and controlled by Canadian Premier League (CPL) team owners, all of the revenue from the national teams' media rights and sponsorships.

According to that contract, which will be in place through 2037 if CSB decides to extend an initial 10-year deal, CSB pays Canada Soccer an annual fee of between $3 million and $4 million.

The contract, first publicly detailed by TSN in July 2022, has come under withering criticism over the past three years, tarnishing the organization’s reputation and hurting its relationship with players on both senior national teams. Both CSB and Canada Soccer have said repeatedly that they are in discussions to “modernize” the agreement.

Canada Soccer negotiated the CSB deal at a time when many in the media reported the U.S., Canada and Mexico were favourites to secure the World Cup ahead of a rival bid from Morocco. Winning the right to co-host the 2026 World Cup, which will be the largest ever with 104 games, up from 64 during the 2022 event in Qatar, has significantly enhanced the value of Canada Soccer’s media and sponsorship rights.

Blue said the strained relationship between Canada Soccer and CSB does not come up often with potential donors.

“Canada Soccer’s ability to be transparent and truthful and steward their investment properly is a topic of conversation, but people are at the table because they want to help,” he said. “[CSB] doesn't come up in many of the conversations, and when it does, we just reassure people this is an item that we're handling as best we can.”