Canada’s players are on strike and refused to play Panama in a private game, demanding the distribution of prize money linked to qualification for the 2022 World Cup. The last time the Canadians played a World Cup of football, it was 1986, the year of the Saltillo affair – the players of the Portuguese national team went on strike during training, demanding improved game prices and reforms within the federation .
In a statement, the Canadians, including FC Porto’s Stephen Eustáquio and Moreirense’s Steven Vitória, expressed their dissatisfaction with the behavior of the federation, which has been dragging out the case for months. Faced with the inefficiency of the organization, they decided to miss the duel with Panama, apologizing to the supporters. “It is a great privilege and a great responsibility to represent and play for our country,” said in a statement, after having previously refused to train for the national team. last two days.
At stake, according to the players, is the evolution of football in Canada, as well as equality of prize money with the women’s team, sixth in the FIFA rankings and gold medalists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. “We want leadership that can maximize the positive moment of selection and generate revenue to be used in the evolution of the sport in the country. Women’s League and participation prizes that include 40% of the revenue from participation in the FIFA Cup. world,” reads a list of demands, published by Canadian media.
In the same document, the players specify having started negotiations with the federation in March, but that it is only now, on June 4, that they have had a first response. “The leaders of Canada Soccer [federação] strangely decided to take a vacation and therefore the negotiation process was unnecessarily prolonged,” they added.
The Canadian federation only informed that the meeting with Panama had been cancelled. The team’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, in Vancouver, against Curaçao, for the CONCACAF Nations League.
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