Canadian women players suing Canada Soccer board members
A union representing Canadian women’s soccer players has filed a lawsuit against several current and former Canada Soccer board members. The Canadian Soccer Players’ Association (CSPA) has named 15 executives in the $40 million lawsuit, per an article by TSN‘s Rick Westhead.
It was revealed in the article that the CSPA has filed two documents, one notice of application and one statement of claim, in Ontario Supreme Court.
The board members named are those who signed the now-infamous agreement between Canada Soccer and a company named Canadian Soccer Business.
New: A trade union representing players on Canada’s senior women’s national team has filed a $40M lawsuit against 15 current and former Canada Soccer board members.
The lawsuit alleges the board members breached their fiduciary duty to Canada Soccer in 2018 when they approved a…— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) February 21, 2024
The lawsuit accuses the current and former Canada Soccer board members of not acting in the organization’s best interests when they signed the deal with Canadian Soccer Business.
“According to the statement of claim, the board failed to canvas the market for competing bids, failed to conduct appropriate diligence with respect to the fair market value of Canada Soccer’s media and sponsorship rights, failed to make adequate disclosures to the membership of Canada Soccer, and failed to follow necessary approvals processes,” wrote Westhead in his article, which went up on TSN today.
The agreement between Canada Soccer and Canadian Soccer Business has been criticized as it locked in a relatively cheap price for the broadcasting and sponsorship rights for both the men’s and women’s national teams at a time when both programs were growing.
There are lots of big names in the Canadian soccer world named in the lawsuit, including former Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis and current president Charmaine Crooks.
Bontis was also in the news over the past 12 months after Canadian legend Christine Sinclair called him out by name in her opening address to the Canadian government last March.
“On a personal note, I’ve never been more insulted than I was by Canada Soccer’s own president, Nick Bontis, last year, as we met with him to discuss our concerns,” said Sinclair.
“I was tasked with outlining our compensation ask on behalf of the Women’s National Team. The president of Canada Soccer [Nick Bontis] listened to what I had to say and then later in the meeting referred back to it as, quote, ‘What was it Christine was bitching about?’
“To me, this spoke volumes about the lack of respect Canada Soccer has for its women’s national team. As a team, we do not trust Canada Soccer to be open and honest as we continue to negotiate for not only fair and equitable compensation and treatment but for the future of our program.”
The powerful statement was viewed by people across the country.
“As a team we do not trust Canada Soccer to be open and honest as we continue to negotiate, for not only fair and equitable compensation, but for the future of our program.”
– Christine Sinclair in her opening statement to the Parliamentary Heritage Committee pic.twitter.com/xBeFD727cN
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) March 9, 2023
There is a major competition for the Canadian Women’s National Team as the 2024 Paris Olympics take place this summer. They are the defending gold medal winners as they won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were actually held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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