TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Sebastian Zucchet

The past few weeks have been a bit hectic for the Canadian Soccer Association. Back in March, we as a nation were all celebrating the qualification of the Canadian men's soccer team as they punched their ticket to the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. But during the latest international break however, the CSA has taken a step backwards.

Canada was scheduled to play a friendly match against Iran in preparation for the World Cup, but the game was called off due to many fans protesting because Iran and Canada have icy relations in the political world due to Iran's involvement with a plane that was shot down over Ukraine in 2020 that killed 85 Canadians.

The outcry led to a cancellation of the game, which pleased many Canadian fans, and the families of those affected by the disaster. The cancellation was criticized by the Iranian Federation and they released a statement saying “Unfortunately, contrary to the theatrical claims, the most sporting issues seem to have become a plaything of partisan orientations and a political partitioning within Canada.” Canada then agreed to play Panama in a friendly instead on June 5 at BC Place in Vancouver.

Panama wasn’t the greatest opponent in terms of a World Cup warmup, but it was still a good match for the players and a first game for the Vancouver crowd since 2019. All the excitement quickly dried up though, as rumours started to appear that the players refused to train or play in the match over equal pay disputes.

The players caught wind of a $10 million reward from FIFA for qualification, but were unhappy with the way it would be distributed. The match was called off less than two hours before kickoff, largely disappointing the fans who had traveled and paid for a ticket. The players wanted a 40% share in compensation, as well as accommodation and packages for families and friends traveling to the World Cup, as well as equal pay for both men and women per World Cup match and development of a women’s soccer league.

It is reported that the players have started training again for their upcoming CONCACAF Nations League matches against Honduras and Curacao, but talks will be ongoing with the board of Soccer Canada. It's things like this that make you shake your head because Canada has come so far as a soccer nation with the women competing in multiple World Cups, and winning three Olympic gold medals in a row including a gold in Tokyo, alongside the men qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986. As fans we can only hope things get better and everyone is happy so that Canada can have great preparation for the World Cup and show the world who we are.