The Canadian men’s soccer team has refused to play a scheduled World Cup warm-up match against Panama amid a contractual dispute between the players and the national governing body of the sport.
Canada Soccer confirmed that the game, scheduled for Sunday at BC Place in Vancouver, had been canceled less than two hours before the start.
The Canadian players issued a statement on Sunday afternoon saying they had decided not to play the game because negotiations on a new deal had been “unnecessarily lengthy”.
“It’s time to take a stand on the future of football in Canada,” the statement said.
Players said they want more transparency in Canada Soccer, changes in the organization’s leadership, a fair compensation structure for both men’s and women’s teams, and a World Cup compensation that includes 40% of the prizes and a ” complete package of friends and family “for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
“We want to work together with our organization, but the relationship has been going on for years,” the statement said. “And now, Canada Soccer has disrespected our team and jeopardized our efforts to raise standards and effectively advance the game in Canada.”
The men’s team has not played at home since beating Jamaica 4-0 in Toronto on March 27 and securing a place in the World Cup. It has been even longer since the team played in Vancouver, with its last appearance in March 2019, when Canada beat French Guiana 4-1 in the CONCACAF League of Nations standings.
The Canadians, ranked 38th, are scheduled to start the CONCACAF Nations League match against No. 79 Curacao in Vancouver on June 9th.
“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 game (in Vancouver) on June 9. “
A couple of workouts scheduled for Friday and Saturday had been previously ruled out due to the contract dispute.
Canada Soccer issued a statement on Saturday night saying that “it is currently in discussions with its national team players about fair and equitable compensation for players before the FIFA World Cup period”.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 5, 2022.