How did we get here?
Aaaaaannddd exhale. Wow, what a month February was. Going into the month, the mood was one of hopeful anticipation for the first CanWNT action of the year at the She Believes Cup. Little did we know, something sinister had been brewing behind the scenes since last Fall. We now know that the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) has been in dire financial straits since at least last November, when they had to turn to a private donation to fund the November camp and the matches vs Brazil. Whether the players were aware of this reality or not, things came to a breaking point in January, when the CSA Leadership informed coaches Priestman and Herdman that both of their programs would face significant budget cuts heading into 2023. The players were not happy.
Through their strike (turned protest) at the She Believes Cup, the accompanying media attention, and the outpouring of support from the global women’s football community, the team sent a clear message. Enough is enough. By the end of February, Dr Nick Bontis resigned from his position as CSA President and the government stepped in by calling the CSA and players to testify in front of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa. Union reps Sinclair, Beckie, Quinn, and Schmidt will be heading to Ottawa (in the middle of their pre-season, it must be said) to keep fighting the fight.
While it’s deplorable that our gold-medal-winning National Team has to continuously fight their own federation for gender equity, including equal opportunity and treatment as the men’s team, it’s a fight they’ve fully accepted and committed to. Simply put, these players may be tired after not only months but years of inequity faced on the club and international level, but they are absolutely going to win this. More specifically, they’re tired of approaching negotiations in good faith only to face a lack of transparency and resourcing. The Tokyo Olympics were meant to be a turning point, but nearly one and a half years later it’s becoming apparent that we are still a long while away from true gender equity. In an uncharacteristic move, the team (finally?) took a more aggressive approach, largely inspired by their US counterparts who achieved a monumental deal for equity last year. In addition, the players are aware of how they could similarly become role models for others globally, by finally speaking up. We’ve already seen counterparts in Japan, France, and Spain step up their efforts, for example, Japan’s players criticizing the lacking broadcaster for their games and France’s stars stepping down in protest of a mentally draining environment created by their coach.
What is this really about?
Respect
Those less familiar with the nuances might think this is strictly about money. It’s not. It’s so much more than that. At the heart of it all it’s about respect. Imagine how disrespected the players felt when they realized that the CSA had been short-changing them all this time. In the lead up to the men’s World Cup no expense was spared to ensure the success of the men’s team, including but not limited to chartered flights, a private chef, and double the staff (medical & performance, operations, technical, analysts, etc). When asked “what has changed?” in a media call, Christine Sinclair answered that it wasn’t until the men’s success that the women’s team realized how much the federation was capable of and what they weren’t giving them. She called it “negotiating in the dark”. The financial reports show the discrepancy clearly in 2021, the first year of the men’s qualification cycle. While the 2022 financials aren’t available yet, you bet your ass the men’s team budget will be significantly higher again, likely over the 10 million dollar mark.
Competence
Beyond respect, it’s also about competence. The players no longer have confidence in the federation's ability to govern the sport in this country. The mistrust that has built up on the player’s side feels insurmountable at this stage, mainly related to the long-term deal struck between the CSA and Canada Soccer Business (CSB). For those unfamiliar, CSB is a private entity made up of owners of the CPL teams, a league which came to be due to the FIFA requirements to have men’s pro league to host the 2026 World Cup Bid (where was that energy for the WWC in 2015, btw?). In exchange for 3-4 million dollars annually over 10 years, the CSA signed over the broadcasting and sponsorship rights to CSB, who have a unilateral right to renew for another 10 years. There’s no doubt that CSB represents a critical piece of infrastructure in the Canadian soccer system. That being said, it came at an immense cost to national team players and the CSA as they are essentially unable to capitalize on their own success. We can argue all we want about the merits of this deal that came at a low point in Canadian soccer history, but signing a long-term deal that sees money funnelled away from successful national teams leaves some serious questions about CSA’s leadership at the time. The fact that it funds a men’s league only adds insult to injury, especially since CSB has only ever talked the talk when it comes to creating a women’s league.
Jessie explains it best…
It’s pretty complex, but Jessie Fleming posted the following summary:
Gender inequity - Unequal opportunity/resources in preparation for the World Cup, discrepancy between the men’s and women’s budget
Poor governance - financial mismanagement, lack of transparency
But, we would add an unspoken third and fourth elephant in the room:
3. The CSB deal - how it came to be, leveraging the wnt’s image and broadcast rights to fund a men’s league
4. Respect - the team feels disrespected, not only over the past year of negotiations, but over decades and generations of players who grew up knowing this feeling of being an “afterthought”
What that looks like right now.
No scheduled send-off game on home soil
Shutting down the program after Sept qualifiers
Bev not having access to the right amount of people to run a scrimmage, less staff in camp
Worse facilities, more people to a room, players paying out of pocket to upgrade flights
Cuts to youth team programming (only one camp scheduled across all age groups)
What’s next?
Only time will tell but the players made it clear that if things aren’t resolved by April, they will not be participating in the scheduled match vs France. As mentioned, France are having their own troubles with key players Renard, Katoto, and Diana currently not intending to be part of the team if there’s no coaching change.
Before that, keep an eye on the Heritage Committee meetings on March 9th and March 20th. The players will testify first, and CSA leaders will speak on the second date.