CanWNT continues tumultuous battle with Canada Soccer

The GIST: With International Women’s Day just two days away, all eyes remain on the ongoing fight for equal pay and treatment in international women’s soccer, specifically CanWNT’s tumultuous battle with Canada Soccer. It’s beyond time to net an equitable deal.

The latest: After playing last month’s SheBelieves Cup under protest, CanWNT struck an interim funding agreement with Canada Soccer on Thursday, but the deal only applies to payment for 2022.

• The team said there’s still “a lot of work to be done,” as issues including funding and resources remain unresolved with July’s Women’s World Cup looming.

The sticking points: CanWNT’s top priority is adequate funding for the senior national team — namely the same support CanMNT received in their World Cup year — and youth programs in 2023, but Canada Soccer has already said they won’t run training camps for every FIFA window this year, and that fewer players will be able to participate.

• What’s more, Canada Soccer has yet to provide any transparency into their heavily criticized broadcast and sponsorship deal with Canadian Soccer Business. Messy.

What’s next: Despite initial threats of a strike, CanWNT said they’ll play during next month’s friendlies if “meaningful progress [is]...made with respect to a number of bargaining issues.” Perhaps there’ll be more of it following the players’ testimony to the Canadian government on Thursday.