Hours before kick-off, Canada canceled the training match against Panama.
The players went on strike and are now calling for a better collective agreement.
“It is time for us to take a stand on the future of football in Canada,” they said in a statement.
The players of the Canadian football team rejected, Thursday, the contract offer submitted by the Canadian Football Association, which prompted the national team to choose to boycott Sunday’s training match against Panama.
According to the national team’s statement, the federation, after “unnecessarily long negotiations”, made a very poor performance on Thursday.
They want equal pay
“The Canadian Football Association waited until the evening of June 2 to make an old offer and the General Secretary and President were not available until June 4 to contact the players,” the players’ statement read.
Because of that, we reluctantly chose not to play the match against Panama.
The men’s national team is demanding a better future for Canadian football, including a review of sponsorship contracts and equal pay between women’s and men’s players, and they also want 40 percent of the award money the federation receives in connection with the World Cup in Qatar. later this year.
The players hope the row will be resolved before Canada meet Curaçao in the Nations League on Thursday.
Answer: very frustrating
Nick Pontes, president of the Canadian Football Association, later responded to the players’ strike.
“The Canadian Football Association is very disappointed with the decision of the men’s national team to refuse to play. We care about fairness and believe we have put in a good show for the players,” says Pontes.
Earlier this spring, Canada secured a place in the Qatar World Cup later this year, and this was only the second time that the men’s national team qualified for the World Cup in soccer. The first time this happened was the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, when the Canadians finished last in the group behind the Soviet Union, France and Hungary.
In the group stage in Qatar, Canada will face Belgium, Morocco and Croatia.