"It’s shocking": Kaylyn Kyle sounds off on Canada Soccer management

Feb 25 2023, 12:49 am

The Canadian women’s national team wrapped up the 2023 SheBelieves Cup with a 3-0 loss to Japan on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas. The stress of dealing with budget cuts from Canada Soccer was evident throughout the tournament as Canada looked exhausted and emotionally drained. 

While Canada beat Brazil 2-0 in Nashville, overall Bev Priestman’s squad looked out-matched and overwhelmed against both USA and Japan. 

It’s easy to explain why.

Earlier this month, Canadian women’s national team players called out mismanagement gender inequality within Canada Soccer, saying in a statement: “If Canada Soccer is not willing or able to support our team, new leadership should be found.”

“We have been told, quite literally, that Canada Soccer cannot adequately fund the Women’s National Team, and they have waited to tell us this until now when we are less than six months from the World Cup… the Women’s National Team players are being told to prepare to perform at a world-class level without the same level of support that the Men’s National Team received in 2022.”

The Canadian women have threatened job action, and played the SheBelieves Cup in protest.

Canada Soccer responded with a statement of its own, saying it has a “proven track record of supporting women’s soccer” and that pay equity for the women’s team “is at the core of our ongoing player negotiations.”

Former Canadian national team midfielder and current Apple TV MLS commentator Kaylyn Kyle recently shared her thoughts with Daily Hive on the labour dispute.

“Yeah it’s shocking,” Kyle told Daily Hive in New York City earlier this week. “Not only that it’s 2023, but I genuinely don’t know what these women can do. We had and we still have some of the biggest and best players in the world. Christine Sinclair is the top women’s goal-scorer in both the female and male international side. If that isn’t the proof in the pudding, I don’t know what is.”

The CSPA is fighting to avoid limits to the roster and staff sizes they can have during national team camps. They’re also battling proposed shortened national teams camps and a cut to the number of youth camps. They also want to be able to fly business economy.

These are all budget cuts that the men’s team did not have to face as they prepared for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

As the CSPA prepares for their World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand, they want to know why it’s any different for them. Why are they facing these fundamental cuts?

“Two bronze medals,” Kyle said. “Coming off an Olympic gold medal and you’re pulling resources six months out of the biggest major tournament of these players’ lives, I think it’s extremely sad considering you see how much money was pumped into Qatar with our men’s team.”

Kyle claimed earlier this month that “massive corporations” have come to Canada Soccer with the intention of supporting the women’s program, only to be turned away by Canada Soccer and Canadian Soccer Business (CSB).

“The reason why I said that is because obviously I have information,” Kyle said. “I know these big organizations that have gone to the Canadian Soccer Association and CSB and have wanted to put money in, to go directly towards the women…. I get that the money has to get distributed evenly, but if you’re telling me there’s no money, that rule has to change. You can’t be pushing major corporations away from the Canadian Soccer Association.

“It doesn’t make any sense, it doesn’t take me to have a business degree to understand that’s not how you do business.”

If fans are hoping that The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Parliament step in and get involved in the labour dispute, that could be a slippery slope. 

Canadian government involvement could open the door to a fine and possible sanctions from FIFA that could be levelled against the Canadian Soccer Association. If that was to occur, it could potentially trickle down and end up hurting both national team programs. 

“I think anyone that can get involved needs to get involved,” Kyle said. “This needs to be set right… it’s 2023, they’ve done everything possible as a female team to put their name out there to change not only soccer within Canada, but North America like the US national team did, and you’re starting to see that. Canada is one of the only countries without a domestic league, that is insane to me.”

The Canadian Women’s National team will return to the pitch on April 11 in Le Mans, France when they take on France. At this current time, the team does not have a send off game scheduled in Canada before they depart for the World Cup this summer. 

The CSPA have reiterated that if their concerns are not addressed by the Canadian Soccer Association before the next FIFA window in April, they will not play, practice, or participate in any national team activities. 

Har JohalHar Johal

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