Canada’s men’s soccer team has refused to play a scheduled World Cup warm-up match against Panama amid a dispute over a contract between the players and the sport’s national governing body.
Canada Soccer has confirmed that the match, scheduled for Sunday at BC Place in Vancouver, was canceled less than two hours before the start.
The Canadian players issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying they had decided not to play the game because negotiations for a new deal had been “unnecessarily extended”.
“It is time to take a stand on the future of football in Canada,” the statement said.
The players said they wanted more transparency from Canada Soccer, changes in the organization’s leadership, a fair compensation structure for men’s and women’s teams and compensation for the World Cup, which includes 40 percent of the prize pool and a “comprehensive package for friends and family” for the World Cup. Championship in Qatar in 2022
“We want to work with our organization, but relations have been strained for years,” the statement said. “And now Canada Soccer has disrespected our team and jeopardized our efforts to raise standards and advance effectively in the game in Canada.”
The men’s team has not played on home soil since beating Jamaica 4-0 in Toronto on March 27th and winning a place in the World Cup. It’s been a long time since the team played in Vancouver, most recently in March 2019, when Canada beat French Guiana 4-1 in the CONCACAF League of Nations qualifiers.
The 38th-class Canadians are scheduled to start the CONCACAF League of Nations match against 79 Curacao in Vancouver on June 9.
“We want to apologize to our fans,” the players said in a statement. “Playing at home with your support is everything for us. We hope that Canada Soccer will take decisive steps to work with our team so that we can return to the field for our match (in Vancouver) on June 9. “
A pair of training sessions scheduled for Friday and Saturday had previously been canceled due to a contract dispute.
Canada Soccer issued a statement late Saturday saying it “is currently in discussions with its national team players about fair and equitable compensation for players before the World Cup.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 5, 2022.
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