The CanMNT skips practice as they are scheduled to face Panama on Sunday at BC Place in Vancouver, BC and on Saturday the players decided to forgo practicing due to a pay dispute with Canada Soccer.
The CanMNT skips practice on Saturday
DEVELOPING: Canada’s national men’s soccer team stayed off the pitch on Friday, refusing to train for Sunday’s World Cup warmup against Panama because of a dispute over player compensation.
Story from @rwesthead:https://t.co/eUIr15L2EX pic.twitter.com/zSQ5oYdsCC
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) June 4, 2022
It is still unsure if the game on Sunday night is in jeopardy but word on the ground is the players are listening to CSA but holding firm. Here is the situation at hand that has caused another setback in the team’s World Cup preparation with two games at home scheduled. A lot of this information has come from Rick Westhead of TSN.
According to sources players have been battling Canada Soccer executives after they offered a new contract to the players in April. The deal involves a tentative agreement for qualifying for this year’s World Cup and also has bonuses set on how far the country advances in the tournament.
This year’s winner of the World Cup will win 42 million dollars US of the 440 million in total prize money from FIFA and it has yet to be confirmed how much Canada will get for qualifying for this year’s event but is probable they are going to receive more than 10 million.
Canada Soccer has offered to give the players 10% of that 10 million with the rest going to organization administration costs, a new national training center in Vaughan, Ontario, and grassroots soccer initiatives but the players have countered by asking for 40% which will be split by the players.
Dispute between the players and Canada Soccer
That number was disputed by Canada Soccer on Saturday saying the demand was between 75-100% and that they offered 60% as a counter-proposal to be split by both the men’s and women’s teams. Another wrinkle in the situation is tickets and accommodations for Qatar.
Most countries that go to the World Cup usually offer 6-8 tickets per family with travel and accommodations covered by the federation but Canada Soccer is only offering 2 tickets and that player’s families will be on their own when it would come to booking travel and hotels.
The CanMNT was originally scheduled to face Iran but cancelled the game due to political backlash and after playing Panama on Sunday will play Curaçao on June 9th in Concacaf Nations League at BC Place before heading to Honduras for a game on June 13th.
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer on May 31, 2022.
