Canadian Soccer Players Are Demanding Better Working Conditions
The Canadian senior men’s national soccer team has recently gone on strike. The players want sweeping changes in Canadian soccer, including for the women’s team pay to be raised to equal men’s.
The Canadian men’s national soccer team celebrates after defeating Jamaica four-zero in its World Cup qualifying match at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 27, 2022. (Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images)
In a press release on June 5, 2022, the Canadian senior men’s national soccer team stated its intention to sit out its friendly match against Panama that day. The players’ strike was a protest aimed at Canada’s governing soccer federation over contract disputes. The list of demands outlined in the team’s press release points to serious labor discontent in Canadian Soccer.
Since then, relatively little has been said on the subject. The team has gone on to play qualifying matches against Curaçao for the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). But the incident is proof of growing player assertiveness. A similar yearslong dispute between the US women’s national team and US Soccer concluded this May with a historic collective bargaining agreement that included equal pay and ensured fair pay for US Soccer’s two senior teams.
The decision to sit out the Panama match is not a simply an aberrant blip. Unless the concerns of players are heeded soon, we can expect more of the same. Thus far, Canada Soccer seems unwilling to come to the table. As a result, the specter of player labor militancy will continue to haunt soccer in Canada.
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