Players from the Canadian soccer team traveled to Ottawa on Thursday to speak out against inequalities at Soccer Canada, which they accuse of paying them five times less than their male colleagues in the year they won gold at the Olympics.
“Imagine our shock when we realized in 2021, the year of the gold medal, that the men’s team was paid five times more,” testified professional soccer player Janine Beckie.
She is one of four players from the Canadian soccer team heard before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. The players mainly accused their sports federation, Soccer Canada, of financial mismanagement.
“We have no idea where the money comes from and where it goes, and how to explain the difference between our salary and that of the men. For us, fairness is only one piece of the puzzle,” said team captain Christine Sinclair.
More money for men
Athletes demand not only pay equity with their male colleagues, but also access to the same resources for training and more financial transparency. The alleged unequal treatment has shocked the elected officials all the more since the women’s team has accumulated international sporting successes.
Speaking on behalf of the team, the four players denounced to elected officials certain financial decisions of their federation, such as having bequeathed all television rights for soccer matches to a private company, Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) for ten years. .
“CSB finances the men’s league, but there is nothing in place, nothing equal, for women here in Canada,” denounced Christine Sinclair. She suggested that the committee question its officials.
Players Quinn and Sophie Schmidt also spoke on Thursday, notably to express that they have no confidence in the new management of Soccer Canada, with whom they are currently in salary negotiations. Elected officials from all parties in Ottawa have expressed sympathy for their demands.
The players testified to a certain culture of silence in professional soccer, as Canada will host the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup in 2026.
“FIFA has a policy to prevent players from involving their governments to get rid of their sports federation”, for example dropped Janine Beckie.
New inquiry request
“A public inquiry [sur les Sports] can be beneficial. We see that there are multiple problems in sports in Canada”, also asked the player Quinn.
Opposition elected officials and even the former Liberal Minister of Sports, Kirsty Duncan, have called for the opening of such an investigation on the sidelines of the abuse scandals at Hockey Canada. The Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, has always replied that these situations are often outside federal jurisdiction.
“We are going to have new conditions for sports organizations in terms of financial transparency governance. We will have new things to announce soon, ”promised Minister St-Onge on Thursday.
Soccer Canada posted a lengthy message on its website on Thursday ahead of its players’ release. The organization maintains that the proposed collective agreements “will make it possible to pay an equal amount to the players of the two national teams [féminine et masculine] “.
However, it is clarified: “it does not mean parity of the dollar amount, simply because the costs are different. The competition schedule and the FIFA World Cup qualification route for the men’s national team compared to the women’s national team has quite different associated costs. »