The Canadian Women’s Soccer Players’ Association, which represents the national women’s team, has filed a $40 million lawsuit against 15 current and former members of the Canada Soccer board of directors, alleging “negligence and breach of duty.” fiduciary duty”.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The controversial agreement signed by Canada Soccer with Canadian Soccer Business (CSB), which grants the latter organization marketing, sponsorship and broadcast rights to Canada Soccer, in exchange for an annual fee, is at the heart of this lawsuit .
The lawsuit argues that the agreement “has created and continues to create a serious risk to Canada Soccer’s ability to fulfill its mandate.”
“The board in 2018 knew, or should have known, that the agreement would, at best, deprive Canada Soccer of revenue that could have been spent on development, and at worst, compromise Canada Soccer’s ability to operate “, we can read.
“In approving the agreement with CSB, the directors of Canada Soccer in 2018 were unable to exercise prudence, good faith and a reasonable belief that such approval was in the best interests of Canada Soccer. »
The documents indicate that under the agreement, Canada Soccer receives a fixed amount of $3 to $4 million annually.
These allegations have not been proven in court.
The suit names board members in 2018, five of whom are still in place. The current president, Charmaine Crooks, as well as her predecessors Nick Bontis and Steven Reed, appear there.
“We have been informed of a legal action filed by the Canadian Women’s Soccer Players’ Association against members of the Canada Soccer board of directors in 2018,” said a Canada Soccer spokesperson. We are waiting to be advised in this matter. »
The Canadian men’s and women’s teams are currently negotiating employment contracts with Canada Soccer. The women’s last agreement ended at the end of 2021.
The filing of this lawsuit came on the eve of the Canadian team’s first match at the first-ever Women’s Gold Cup. This does not appear to be a coincidence.
“The news broke today, but you wouldn’t have known it,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said at a press conference in Houston, when asked about the lawsuit. There were no such discussions in the locker room. It shows that this team is focused on what is in front of them, on the pitch. »
Appointed captain earlier Tuesday, Jessie Fleming was stingy with comments.
“To be honest, it’s something that ends up in court and so I think from the players’ point of view, we’re not going to comment on that at the moment,” she said.
At the Gold Cup, the Canadians, 10are in the world, are in Group C with Costa Rica (43e), Paraguay (50e) and El Salvador (104e).