Women's national soccer team 'outraged' by Canada Soccer funding cuts

Members of Canada's women's national soccer team say they're feeling 'outraged' and 'deeply disrespected' by Canada Soccer after receiving news of 'significant cuts' to the program for 2023.

Members of Canada's women's national soccer team say they're feeling "outraged" and "deeply disrespected" by Canada Soccer after receiving news of "significant cuts" to the program for 2023.

As first reported by TSN, the Canadian Soccer Players' Association, which represents Canadian women in soccer, is calling for adequate funding or a change in leadership at the governing body, calling the lack of support this year "an unacceptable burden to put on the shoulders of our players."

"If Canada Soccer is not willing or able to support our team, new leadership should be found," the players said in a statement. "We are committed to do whatever it takes to create public awareness of this crisis and to force Canada Soccer to start to support the national teams properly." 

This comes five months before the start of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, set to kick off on July 20. But as players prepare for the tournament, they say they've had to cut training camp days, full camp windows, the number of players and staff invited to camps and limit the support for national youth team. The players also say they've been told the national team will not play a home game before the World Cup.

The men's team also released a statement on Friday in support of the women's team, saying Canada Soccer's use of funds is "unclear and cloaked in secrecy."

The statement from the men's side also referenced Canada Soccer's ties to a private company called Canada Soccer Business (CSB). A TSN investigation last July revealed that Canada Soccer has a multi-year contract with CSB, giving up media and sponsorship rights of both national teams in exchange for a guaranteed annual fee of $3 million to $4 million. This means that much of Canada Soccer's revenue gets diverted to CSB.

"We know that through this financial and other mismanagement, Canada Soccer is claiming that it does not have the funds necessary to provide the Women's National Team players the working conditions and games they need to prepare for the 2023 Women's World Cup," the men's team said. "That is outrageous and calls for an immediate and urgent response."