Canada’s national men’s soccer team was left off the field on Friday, refusing to train for Sunday’s World Cup warm-up against Panama over a dispute over player compensation, according to sources familiar with the matter.
It is unclear whether the players will appear at a scheduled training session on Saturday at UBC. It is also unclear whether the players have threatened not to play in Sunday’s BBC match in Vancouver, which was scheduled after Canada Soccer canceled a friendly against Iran due to political pressure. The team also has to face Curacao at BC Place on June 9.
The players have been at odds with Canada Soccer leaders for months after the national team offered a new contract to the team, sources said. The contract offer was submitted to the players in April.
The proposed agreement includes an indicative ranking structure for this year’s World Cup in Qatar and includes certain bonuses that depend on Canada’s progress in the event.
The winner of this year’s World Cup will receive 42 million dollars (USA) from the total prize fund of FIFA of 440 million dollars.
It is unclear how much money the teams will earn to qualify for the tournament, which starts on November 21, but it is estimated that Canada Soccer is ready to receive more than $ 10 million from FIFA, said sources familiar with the matter.
Canada Soccer has offered the men’s national team players about 10 percent of that $ 10 million payment, with the rest going to fund elements, including the organization’s administrative costs, a proposed national training center in Vaughan, Ont, and mass initiatives. football, the sources said, adding that the players of the men’s national team have asked for about 40 percent of the World Cup bonus to be divided among 33 players.
Canada Soccer disputed those figures early Saturday night, saying the team’s request was for 75 to 100 percent of the World Cup prize pool. Canada Soccer says it has proposed 60 percent to be divided equally between the men’s and women’s teams.
“At no time has Canada Soccer submitted a proposal for 10 percent of the prize money for the World Cup,” said Canada Soccer. “Neither did the Association receive an offer from the men’s national team for 40 percent of the prize fund. To be clear, the demand for the men’s national team was 75-100 percent of the prize money for the World Cup. The association, in an effort to adhere to the principle of fair pay, proposed that 60 per cent of the FIFA World Cup prize fund be split between the two national teams (ie 30 per cent + 30 per cent for each team’s players) and 40 per cent. one hundred for the Association. The association believes that this proposal follows the principles of fairness and equality. “
The players of the Canadian national team and their agents are in contact with members of the US men’s national team, which recently agreed to sign a new contract with the US Football Federation, according to which men’s and women’s teams will receive the same rate for participation in matches and tournament victories.
New contracts in the United States include an unprecedented redistribution of millions of dollars in the World Cup prize pool that men’s and women’s teams can win by playing in the tournament, and also contain new revenue-sharing agreements that allow players to receive millions more than its share of US Soccer’s Commercial Revenue each year.
Players on the U.S. national team will now receive $ 24,000 to win a World Cup qualifier, promotional bonuses, and a portion of each ticket sold, in addition to benefits, including childcare (for both men and women). team players) and matching payments for 401 (k) retirement plans.
Canada Soccer told players that it cannot afford such deals because it does not fully control its broadcasting and sponsorship rights thanks to a long-term contract it signed in 2018 with Canadian Soccer Business, an organization that has ties to the Canadian Premier League. league.
Some players on Canada’s men’s national team are also unhappy with Canada Soccer’s plans to support the players’ families during the World Cup, sources said.
Canada Soccer has told players they will receive two free tickets to each of the World Cup matches in Canada and that family and close friends will be responsible for paying for the trip to Qatar and for accommodation, sources said.
During past World Cup tournaments, some European countries have provided each player with up to eight tickets per match, covered accommodation costs and rented charter flights for their families, sources said.
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