Principle of agreement in Canadian soccer for the economic equality of men and women

Following the appointment of former athlete and Olympic medalist Charmaine Crooks as interim president of the Canadian Soccer Federation, Canada Soccer has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with the players of the women's national team to align their financial conditions with those of their counterparts.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
03 March 2023 Friday 09:28
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Principle of agreement in Canadian soccer for the economic equality of men and women

Following the appointment of former athlete and Olympic medalist Charmaine Crooks as interim president of the Canadian Soccer Federation, Canada Soccer has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with the players of the women's national team to align their financial conditions with those of their counterparts. masculine. The measures will focus mainly on equalizing the incentives per game and prizes for results.

"This is about respect, dignity and leveling the playing field in a world that is fundamentally unequal," Earl Cochrane, Canada Soccer's general secretary, said in announcing the news.

"We have been consistent and have made public the need for fairness and equal pay to be the pillars of any new agreement with our players, and today we are complying with it. Although it is an important step forward, and it is a sign of progress , there is still work to be done to ensure that our two national programs receive the necessary resources and support to prepare and compete," he added.

The organization stressed that the negotiations continue and, therefore, "the provisional financing agreement with the players of the women's national team is subject to changes depending on the details that are included in the final collective agreement."

This principle of agreement opens the way for the resolution of a long conflict that, among other consequences, led to the resignation of the president of the federation, Nick Bontis.

The women's team, a gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was forced by Canada Soccer to play the She Believes Cup two weeks ago, under threat of sanctions and fines, despite the fact that the players had gone on strike in protest against the treatment received by the federation.

The players demand that, before the Women's Soccer World Cup to be held this summer in Australia and New Zealand, Canada Soccer allocate the same resources as those allocated to the men's team during the Qatar World Cup.

The principle of agreement reached with the soccer players is part of a scenario in which several teams have raised their voices to protest against their respective federations for the resources allocated to the women's section of each one of them.