Canada Soccer and the country’s women’s national team struck a deal on interim funding for 2022, helping to resolve an issue that had the team threatening to strike last month.
Canada Soccer said that the deal reflects that of the men’s national team with regards to incentives and compensation. The team had previously raised issues around funding and equal pay.
The two sides are still negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, after the previous one expired in 2021.
“We have been consistent and public about the need to have fairness and equal pay be pillars of any new agreements with our players, and we are delivering on that today,” said Canada Soccer general secretary Earl Cochrane.
Citing budget cuts and pay disparities, the women’s team had threatened to boycott the SheBelieves Cup, played between the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and Canada last month.
The strike was called off after Canada Soccer threatened to sue the Canadian Soccer Players Association for millions of dollars in damages. The team played the cup under protest, defeating Brazil and losing to the other two teams.
The team is preparing for the Women’s World Cup, which begins in July in Australia and New Zealand.
The U.S. women’s soccer team earned $13 million from the men’s team’s 2022 World Cup run to the round of 16, due to a revenue sharing agreement between the two squads.
