Canada Soccer withholding World Cup pay from men's national team, players say
While the Canadian women’s national team is currently competing in the 2023 FIFA World Cup, tensions are high within the men’s squad.
TSN journalist Rick Westhead reported on Tuesday that the men’s national team has sent a cease and desist letter to Canada Soccer’s sponsors demanding they stop using images or likenesses of players in advertising materials.
Westhead also shared a written statement from the Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team Player’s Association (CMNSTPA).
One section of the Canada Menās National Soccer Team Players Association statement that stands out.
The CMNSTPA alleges Canada Soccer has walked back previous contract offers made by former Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis because he tabled those offers without the approval ofā¦ pic.twitter.com/IAANBs1kAc— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) July 25, 2023
The statement accuses Canada Soccer of withholding prize money and forcing players to reach an “inadequate deal.”
In it, the players say that Canada Soccer wants to retain a large portion of the World Cup prize money while drastically cutting the team’s compensation. They also reveal that the players have still not been paid for their participation in the 2022 World Cup.
“Now, despite claiming to want to forge a partnership with the Men’s and Women’s National Team players, Canada Soccer has sought to keep approximately 70% of the combined World Cup prize money, while simultaneously demanding that we agree to reduce our per game compensation drastically, by as much as 75%,” the statement reads. “Shockingly, to date, the Men’s National Team players have not been paid anything for their participation in the 2022 World Cup eight months ago.”
The player’s association also states that despite its efforts, Canada Soccer has reduced its offers without any additional demands from players. Furthermore, Canada Soccer is apparently attempting to capitalize on the pressure of the Women’s World Cup to force the team into an “inadequate deal.”
The letter mentions the resignation of Canada Soccer’s former President Nick Bontis and former General Secretary Earl Cochrane, and questions the legitimacy of previous offers made by Canada Soccer.
“Canada Soccer now claims that it cannot honour the publicly announced March 9 offer or any other prior offers, because they were made without the approval of the board of directors, or the chief financial officer,” the CMNSTPA writes. “These are disturbing facts given that at that time Canada Soccer was already the subject of the Federal Government’s scrutiny and continues to be subject to a federal financial audit.”
According to the letter, the CMNSTPA’s current offer would provide that Canada Soccer would retain between $8.9 million and $14.1 million from the prize money earned by the Men’s and Women’s National Team players from the 2022 Men’s and 2023 Women’s World Cups.
Despite the bad feelings towards Canada Soccer, the men’s team says it is still supporting the women’s team during the ongoing World Cup.
“We are rooting for our colleagues and friends on the Women’s National Team in Australia and New Zealand, and wish them a successful, enjoyable, and memorable World Cup over the coming weeks.”
The women’s team drew its opening match against Nigeria 0-0 and is playing its second match tomorrow against the Republic of Ireland.
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