Canada Soccer released details of proposed collective bargaining agreement

The GIST: Mere hours before CanWNT players were set to testify before the Canadian government, Canada Soccer released details of their proposed collective bargaining agreement (CBA) yesterday, shockingly making private negotiations public with no warning. Red cards flags galore.

The details: The proposed deal comes on the heels of last week’s interim funding agreement and would afford the women and men the same amount for matches and prize money, making CanWNT the second-highest paid FIFA women’s national team, presumably behind the gender equity–leading USWNT.

• That said, the CBA from Canada Soccer does not include equal budgets, a key demand from the squad when they threatened to strike last month.

The context: Those budgets are a major sticking point. Statements released yesterday show a nearly $350K discrepancy in the men’s and women’s budgets from 2012 to 2019, a time frame in which CanWNT competed in two World Cups and Olympics, while the men featured in zero. The math’s not mathing.

Next steps: Along with correcting the controversial Canada Soccer Business marketing deal, Canada Soccer stated they will continue to address all nine of CanWNT’s aforementioned demands. But after the players’ illuminating testimony yesterday and the shock of the CBA being released, there could be a long way to go.