What happened ?

Two hours before the start of Sunday’s friendly against Panama, the Football Canada Association issued a terse press release announcing the cancellation of the meeting. After avoiding two training sessions, Friday and Saturday, the players refused to appear on Sunday’s pitch to protest the new employment contract that was presented to them on Thursday.

The friendly was scheduled for Vancouver as part of the Canucks’ preparation for the World Cup in Qatar. The game promised to be festive as the team would have found their audience for the first time since qualifying for the World Cup.

The international match against Panama planned for June 5, 2022 is cancelled. All ticket buyers will receive further details. pic.twitter.com/KKmVJ9zGSh

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerFR) June 5, 2022

The strike is all the more difficult because the previous preparatory game against Iran on May 26 was canceled for other reasons. The association had to backtrack before the Canadian Prime Minister’s outcry. Justin Trudeau called the meeting from “bad idea” to the families of the 85 Canadian citizens and residents who died when Iranian forces shot down a Ukraine International plane on January 8, 2020.

What are the players asking for?

Through the strike movement, the men’s national team is expressing its opposition to the terms of the new employment contract. In a letter shared on social media on Sunday, the players list their reasons for their dissatisfaction and their expectations. You state that you have been negotiating with the association since March, you criticize a “archaic offer”.

“The general secretary and the president of the association only made themselves available to contact the players for the first time on June 4 at 4 p.m. specify player. For these reasons, we reluctantly decided not to play the game against Panama. It’s time we took a stand for the future of football in Canada.”

The players deserve better.
John Herdman deserves better.
The fans deserve better.

If we want to become an elite football nation, we have to behave like one. #CANMNT pic.twitter.com/SWnHn1egdT

— Donnovan Bennett (@donnovanbennett) June 5, 2022

Canadian footballers in particular have asked “Fair treatment of the women’s national team”, in terms of match-related revenue, World Cup winning percentage and the development of a women’s national league. They are demanding 40% of the bonuses associated with the World Cup and payment of transport to Qatar for their relatives during the competition.

They are also calling for a review of their match-broadcasting and partnership agreements and for increased representation of former members of the men’s, women’s and Paralympic teams on Canada’s football governing bodies. As the country competes in the second World Cup in its history, players generally expect their leaders to capitalize on the event to generate additional revenue.

What does the Canadian federation answer?

In response to the cancellation of training, Canada Soccer stated on Saturday that this was the case “Currently in talks with national players about fair and just financial compensation in the run-up to the World Cup”. However, its president, Nick Bontis, was decisive in his press release: “Canada Soccer worked in good faith with the players to find a solution that was fair to all. We believe we made the players a fair offer.”

Nick Bontis felt the players’ request was not financial “consistent”, adding that the federation made its proposal based on the examples of other nations. He also criticized the demand for equal treatment, assuring that Canada Soccer had offered the national team players exactly the same contract terms.

The Canucks hope the dispute will be resolved by Thursday’s game against Curacao in Vancouver in the Concacaf Nations League (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football).