Legal threat persuades Canadians to call off strike ahead of SheBelieves Cup

February 13 - Canada will take part in the SheBelieves Cup after Canada Soccer threatened to sue the players of the Women's National Team. They had threatened to go on strike but have now resumed training ahead of the tournament.

The decision to strike was motivated by a lack of equal pay and what the team considered to be unsatisfactory preparation plans for the 2023 Women's World Cup.

But with the threat of legal action from the national federation, the team returned to the field and training camp in Florida before the SheBelieves curtain-raiser in Orlando against the United States on February 16.

"To be clear. We are forced to return to work at short notice," Captain Christine Sinclair said in a social media post. we deserve and we will win. The SheBelieves is played in protest."

The team said they could not risk legal action "as individual players who have yet to receive any compensation for any of our work for Canada Soccer in 2022."

On Friday, the team announced an equal pay strike, cuts to the program and poor preparations for the Women's World Cup later this year. The team still has no home friendlies for the 32-team tournament.

They issued the following statement: "We, the players of the National Women's Soccer Team, demand immediate change. Canada Soccer must live up to its public commitment to gender equality and its obligation as a governing body of soccer in Canada to advance the sport, not set it back. We expect and deserve nothing less than to be treated fairly and equitably and that our program - and our preparations for the World Cup - be appropriately funded."

The latest fiasco is another embarrassment for Canada Soccer executives. The organization has indicated that it will respond “to each of the requests made by the players. But Canada Soccer knows that is not enough”.

This is the second time governing body chairman Nick Bontis and general secretary Earl Cochrane have been at the center of a player uprising. Before the World Cup in Qatar last year, the same problems arose with the men's national team. The Canadians then boycotted a friendly international against Panama in preparation for the final.

The men's team released a statement of support for their female counterparts. It read: "How Canada Soccer allocates or uses funds is unclear and shrouded in secrecy. Despite funding from FIFA and heightened interest from sponsors and fans after the men's national team qualified for the 2022 World Cup and its participation in the 2022 World Cup, Canada Soccer's major sources of revenue have largely been diverted to Canada Soccer Business for the benefit of the owners of pro-profit minor league professional soccer teams …”

In 2018, Canada Soccer signed a 10-year agreement with Canada Soccer Business (CSB) which gave CSB the rights for all corporate partnerships and broadcast rights for both men's and women's national team programming. The deal came on the eve of the launch of the country's elite Canadian Premier Soccer League (CPL). CSB is made up of CPL owners.

Canadian football is enjoying a golden age: last year, the men's team took part in a World Cup for the first time since 1986 and the women's team won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. In 2026, the Canadians will be one of three hosts for the expanded 48-team Men's World Cup.

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