Canada Soccer Weighs Bankruptcy Ahead of Women’s World Cup

Canada Soccer is facing possible bankruptcy ahead of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

A lack of sufficient funding could render the country’s senior national teams unable to play in international windows this fall, Jason deVos, interim general secretary for Canadian soccer’s  governing body, told TSN.

Canada Soccer used more than $3.04 million of its $3.8 million in public funding in 2022, while its cash reserves fell to $1.82 million — down from $5.4 million at the end of 2021. 

“We are in a real struggle,” deVos said. “It’s not imminent, but we need to explore what bankruptcy entails and how it might affect our organization. We don’t have enough revenue coming in for the programs that need to be run.”

In 2026, Toronto and Vancouver will host games for the men’s World Cup in North America, which will surely inject cash and stoke new interest in the sport in Canada. But until then, the country’s top soccer officials will struggle to keep the enterprise afloat.

A less-than-favorable media rights contract currently sees Canada Soccer receive an annual payment of up to $3.04 million, while a private company controlled by Canadian Premier League team owners takes in the revenue from media and sponsorship deals.

While Canada’s women’s squad prepares for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the men’s team is in the midst of North America’s Concacaf Gold Cup.