Canadian women soccer players defiant in wake of shameful treatment by Canada Soccer
CBC
This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.
News of the Canadian women's soccer team's job action sent sports media into a tizzy equal to the news of Toronto's mayor quitting due to an extramarital affair, and the prime minister permitting UFOs to be shot down in Canadian airspace.
Last Friday, the women's team, the Olympic champions from Tokyo, announced that they were taking "job action" ahead of the SheBelieves Cup in Florida this week. But they were quickly forced into returning to the field under threat of legal action by Canada Soccer, the organization that runs the team. All this just days before a key tune-up tournament to the Women's World Cup this summer where the team is a strong contender.
Prior to the news, I had naively thought the team was in Florida simply preparing to play against the U.S., Japan and Brazil. Canada, ranked No. 7 in the world, plays No.1 U.S. on Thursday. I assumed the focus would be on the competition, exactly what the players should be focusing on.
But I was wrong. And I don't blame them.
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Instead, they are embroiled in a (I put this very mildly) tête-à-tête with Soccer Canada. After sending in a list of demands to the federation and hearing nothing, they released the statement on Friday afternoon.
"Enough was enough a long time ago," they said.
And the proverbial doodoo hit the fan.
The soccer federation has cut a lot of the budget for 2023, including money for staff and participants for the women's program. Ahead of the Olympics, the women's team (CanWNT) had 28 players at camp; that number has been reduced to 20 for this tournament. That is not even enough players to have a full 11 vs 11 scrimmage.
Cutting the budget that affects the opportunity for the CanWNT to be fully prepared for the World Cup — the most important tournament in the world of soccer — and slashes the youth program, is a devastating blow.
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On Tuesday I attended a media call organized by the Canadian Soccer Player Association (CPSA), an independent entity representing the women's players. It featured team captain Christine Sinclair, Janine Beckie, Quinn and Sophie Schmidt. Due to ongoing legal issues, there were some subjects the players said they could not comment on. One of those was Canada Soccer's controversial deal with Canadian Soccer Business, which the women stated they have yet to see the specifics on.
Their candour was powerful: "Angry, frustrated, appalled and heartbroken," said team stalwart Sophie Schmidt, who announced her pending retirement from international soccer at the beginning of the call.
