Canada and Panama were due to play a friendly in Vancouver on Sunday. But the game did not take place: Canadian footballers announced a boycott. The players (among them Alphonso Davies and Lille forward Jonathan David) did not even train on Friday and Saturday.
The preparation of the sensational team for Qatar (the first entry to the World Cup since 1986) is still going poorly. A friendly against Iran was originally scheduled for Sunday, but that too was canceled at the last moment amid media and political pressure from within the country. The reason is the memory of the crash of Flight 752, shot down by a rocket near Tehran in January 2020. More than 50 Canadian citizens were killed then.
Canadian players squabble over World Cup prize money and seek equal payouts for women's and men's teams
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The boycott of training and the match is a consequence of disagreements with the Canadian Football Federation. In a statement published in the media, the players accuse officials of dragging out negotiations and unwillingness to conduct a dialogue.
“Despite the unprecedented success of both the women's and men's national teams in 2021 and 2022, we have not seen any change. Where is the progress? Where's the money?" the players ask.
Among the main requirements:
• 40% of the prize money for reaching the World Championship. This is approximately 3.6 million dollars - only for the qualification of the national football federation, a minimum of 9 million is due. The amount may increase depending on the success of the team in the tournament.
“What we ask is fair. We don't want to be treated any differently, we just want to be respected and not taken advantage of and just get our share," said midfielder Jonathan Osorio.
• travel package for friends and family traveling with the players;
• Equal financial conditions for men's and women's teams: equal compensation for matches, equal shares of prize money at future world championships.
At the same time, the prize money for the men's and women's World Championships differ significantly. For example, in Qatar we are talking about 440 million dollars of the general fund. For Australia, which will host the women's tournament in 2023, that's just 60 million.
The Canadian women's team is ranked 6th in the world. Last year the team won the Olympic football tournament.
And how is everything arranged in the USA? They fought for equality for 6 years
An inspiring example was the situation in the neighboring country: in May, the unions of the US men's and women's national teams announced an agreement fixing the division equally in prize money from the world championships.
Also, the US men's and women's teams were equalized in domestic conditions: hotel accommodation, staff work, the opportunity to train on a natural lawn.
But the main victory was an agreement on equal salaries and $ 22 million in general compensation for previous infringements in money. The Americans have been fighting for 6 years - in Canada they obviously want to cope faster.
Also, the women's and men's teams were obliged to pay the same in England, Brazil, Australia, Norway and New Zealand. In the summer of 2021, such an initiative was also adopted in Ireland.
