Canada women’s soccer players strike a week before playing USWNT in SheBelieves Cup

The players of the Canadian women’s soccer team went on strike Thursday night, a week before a scheduled game against the United States in the SheBelieves Cup.

Star forward Christine Sinclair and midfielder Janie Beckie told Canadian sports TV network TSN that pay equity imbalances compared to the men’s team and dramatic budget cuts to the women’s program have driven the players to walk off the field.

“As a team, we’ve decided to take job action, and from this moment on will not be participating in any Canadian Soccer Association activities until this is resolved,” Sinclair said. “It’s gotten to a point where, at least for me personally, until this is resolved, I can’t represent this federation.”

The strike announcement followed the players’ union publishing a detailed letter laying out complaints against Canada Soccer, that nation’s governing body for the sport.

“Despite our strong track record of success and history-making achievements for more than a decade, we continue to be told there is not enough money to adequately fund our program and our youth teams,” the letter said, a reference to the Canadian women winning Olympic gold in 2021 after bronzes in 2016 and 2012.

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“While we continue our preparation for the World Cup with our new budget reality, we’ve had to cut not only training camp days but full camp windows, cut the number of players and staff invited into camps, significantly limit the already limited youth teams’ activities, all while we continue to face immense uncertainty about compensation,” the letter said. “We have been told that there will be no home game for our team before the World Cup. 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.”

Canada’s women’s team hasn’t played a home game since last June. It has played recent friendlies in Australia, Brazil, and neutral sites in Spain.

‘Blatantly ignored’

The letter ended with a demand that “If Canada Soccer is not willing or able to support our team, new leadership should be found.”

A separate source told The Inquirer that the Canadian women’s team has been without an active collective bargaining agreement since the end of 2021.

The statement’s reference to cuts to training camp budgets includes the current context of the Canadian women’s team’s pre-SheBelieves Cup camp in Florida. An early camp had 17 players instead of the usual 23-plus, and TSN reported there are only 20 present as of now. The full squad will be named just before the tournament kicks off next Tuesday in Orlando Fla.

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Soon after the women’s union’s letter was published, the men’s union followed with a statement of support.

“The Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team players are, once again, deeply disappointed by the actions of Canada Soccer, and wholeheartedly support the Women’s National Team players’ statement made this afternoon about completely unsatisfactory preparation conditions for this summer’s World Cup,” that letter said.

“Since June 2022, Canada Soccer has consistently refused or blatantly ignored our Players Association’s requests for access to its financial records,” it continued, “to back-up its claims that it does not have the funds to properly operate Canada Soccer or fairly compensate the players, and demands that it explain what has happened to millions of dollars that it should be receiving each year from sponsors and other sources.”

Laying out demands

The men’s union also called for leadership change at Canada Soccer, and went a step further by calling on the nation’s government minister for sport to force dismissals.

The men’s players had their own strike in June, boycotting a friendly game against Panama a few days before a Concacaf Nations League contest. The crux of that strike was the players not having control over their name, image, and likeness rights, with the nation’s first trip to a men’s World Cup since 1986 on the horizon.

That remains an issue for both unions.

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“We demand that Canada Soccer fulfill its obligations as the governing body of soccer in Canada,” the men’s union’s statement said, “stop the unlawful use of player names and likenesses, address the violations of proper governance, provide full disclosure and the transparency required of the national governing body of a major sport, deal with the Players Associations in good faith, and, most importantly, properly fund the men’s and women’s national teams and the youth teams that serve as the pipeline for continued success of the senior teams.”

Canada will co-host the 2026 men’s tournament with the United States and Mexico and play in this year’s women’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Meetings this weekend

Beckie spoke to TSN and accused Canada Soccer of not giving the women’s team “the same resources that our men’s team was given last year to prepare for their World Cup.”

“Saying that we’re outraged is an understatement,” she added.

Canada Soccer said in a statement: “We presented an equity-based proposal to our National Teams and their counsel several months ago, and we are still waiting for a definitive response to the terms of that proposal. Canada Soccer and our legal counsel will be meeting with our Women’s National Team in Orlando tomorrow morning, as agreed to last Sunday, to continue our discussions.”

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U.S. women’s team players voiced strong support for their northern neighbors.

“What do they have to do, win a gold medal? Sell out stadiums? Oh wait…,” Alex Morgan tweeted. “It’s 2023, wake up @CanadaSoccerEN you’re on the clock.”

“Treat your world-class players as world class,” Becky Sauerbrunn tweeted.

The full U.S. squad for the tournament has been in camp in the Orlando area since Monday. A few players will meet with the media at Saturday’s practice in the early afternoon. Brazil and Japan are also in the round-robin tournament.

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