Canada’s national team is facing a difficult situation right now. After qualifying for the World Cup for the first time 36 years later, the Canadians’ first FIFA meeting was marked by a strike by the players called up.

A friendly match would be played last Sunday (5) against Panama in the city of Vancouver, but the duel ended up being canceled just over an hour from kick-off due to a boycott by the players who published an official note.

Players are protesting against the federation’s massive delay in a new financial agreement to replace the current model in place since 2018. The team is demanding 40% of the prize pool for World Cup participation, plus transparency in the business agreements and the guarantee that family and friends can be part of the delegation traveling to Qatar.

Finally, Canadian players are also demanding equal conditions and structures for the women’s team that will compete in the FIFA World Tournament in 2024.

Canada had to change opponents to friendly

It should be noted that the original adversary of this friendly would be Iran, but the Canadian federation suffered several criticisms from the government and the population for having chosen as an adversary a country which would have lacked respect for the victims of the crash. of a commercial plane in 2020. shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards where 55 Canadians died.

Nick Bontis, president of the Canadian Soccer Association, held an emergency press conference and said the demands were valid. However, he specifies that the federation is not able to comply with it.