Canada Soccer head coach expresses his confidence in Bev Priestman

(Toronto) Jason deVos said the word “disappointment” wasn’t strong enough to describe Canada, the reigning Olympic champion,’s quick exit from the Women’s World Cup.


Canada Soccer’s acting general secretary said a full review of the tournament and women’s program would take place.

“What I can say is that (coach) Bev (Priestman) has my full support. She knows,” deVos said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“Bev obviously spends some time with her family,” he added. When she’s ready, I’ll sit with her. We’ll be reviewing what happened during the tournament, in the weeks leading up to the tournament and even throughout the year and program to see what we can improve on to ensure the team is ahead of an important two-game series will be placed in the best conditions in six weeks. »

Canada, ranked seventh in the world, meets Jamaica in Olympic qualifiers on September 24 in Kingston, Jamaica and September 26 in Toronto. The “Reggae Girlz”, number 43Arehad a better run than the Canadians at the World Cup and reached the round of 16.

Canada didn’t progress past the preliminary round, finishing third in Group B after a draw against Nigeria, a hard-fought win over Ireland and an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Australia in a one-night draw.

De Vos, who was in Australia, supported the Canadian campaign remotely without interfering in the day-to-day running of the team.

“It was a challenge,” said deVos, himself a former captain of the Canada team and a member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. When you don’t reach your goals, it’s frustrating.

“I can feel the disappointment among the players and the staff. I sympathize with them because I’ve experienced that kind of disappointment as a player and as a coach. It takes time to recover. »

The Canada squad stands at 22-10-9 under Priestman, who replaced Kenneth Heiner-Moller in November 2020. His contract with Canada Soccer does not expire.

DeVos noted that work continues to form a collective bargaining agreement with the men’s and women’s teams. An agreement in principle was reached on certain elements, including the remuneration of the women’s team in 2024, but the two sides expressed their dissatisfaction with the progress of the negotiations in separate statements.

“I believe that we have taken a first step with this agreement in principle with the women’s team. However, there is still a lot to do, admitted deVos. All I can say is that we remain committed to providing players with everything they need to be successful on the pitch. »

Regarding the controversial partnership between Canada Soccer and Canadian Soccer Business, deVos said talks are still ongoing.

“It’s up to us to work together to reach an agreement,” deVos said. Nothing is set in stone but we are working on this file. »

Canadian Soccer Business is responsible for promoting Canadian soccer on and off the field through television broadcasts and sponsorship deals. Canada Soccer, of which CSB is not a part, would receive between three and four million per year under the current agreement.

Tyrone Hodgson

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