(Montreal) Ottawa has imposed new conditions on the public funding of its soccer federation, which is currently facing numerous criticisms related to its finances and its governance, the Ministry of Sports confirmed on Tuesday.
Given the “lack of financial transparency” and ongoing conflicts within the organization, Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge has called on Soccer Canada to undergo an independent financial audit, a comprehensive review of its governance and that ‘She is following the advice of an external advisory group,’ says a letter obtained by Radio-Canada.
In response, the federation said Tuesday evening that it had accepted the new terms and “will undertake a compliance audit and assessment of its governance”.
“While Canada Soccer has taken steps to improve our governance standards, we thank Minister St-Onge for her letter and her collaborative approach in our efforts to improve financial and operational transparency within our organization,” said Jason deVos, Acting General Secretary of Canada Soccer.
This announcement comes a few weeks after players from the women’s team as well as members of the organization were called to testify before Canadian parliamentarians about the problems inherent in the federation.
These included a controversial representation agreement signed in 2018, unequal pay between women and men and the treatment given by former managers to certain players, including the captain of the women’s team, Christine Sinclair.
In February, the president of the federation, Nick Bontis, had been forced to resign, recognizing the need for a “change”, in the context of a crisis with the women’s team which denounced the inequalities between women and men and the lack of financing.
At the beginning of May, the women’s team, Olympic champion in title, finally obtained an agreement establishing parity of remuneration between the two national selections.
The Canadian women’s team won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and are among the main rivals of the United States, holders, for the next World Cup which will be played next summer in Australia and in New Zealand.