Frustrated Canadian women's team returns to SheBelieves Cup amid bitter labour dispute

The SheBelieves Cup is where it all began for Bev Priestman. 

Priestman had been installed as the new coach of the Canadian women’s team just a few months prior to the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, a four-nation tournament held in Orlando that served as preparation for that summer’s Tokyo Olympics. 

Priestman's debut as Canadian coach was, to say the least, underwhelming. A pair of losses to the U.S. and Brazil, and a skin-of-their-teeth win over lowly Argentina didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence, and raised questions as to whether Canada Soccer got it right by hiring the young English coach. Of course, the Canadians went on to win gold in Tokyo thanks in large part to Priestman’s tactical acumen, astute player selections, and managerial style. Canada had reached new heights and was on top of the women’s game. 

More than two years later, Priestman and Canada have returned to the SheBelieves Cup where they will once again kick off their campaign against the U.S. in Orlando on Thursday, followed by games against Brazil on Sunday in Nashville, and against Japan in Frisco, Texas next Wednesday. And similar to 2021, Canada has its sights firmly set on the horizon, specifically this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. What’s different this time around is that Priestman now finds herself caught in the middle of a bitter labour dispute between members of her team and Canada Soccer. 

The Canadian players went on strike and skipped last Saturday’s training session in Orlando over what they described as significant budget cuts to their program for 2023. The players want the same level of funding and treatment that the men's team (who also had their budget cut for 2023) received last year when it was preparing for the World Cup in Qatar. They players planned to remain on strike until the issue was resolved but returned to training on Sunday after Canada Soccer threatened legal action against them. 

The players are angry and frustrated about the budget cuts, especially with the World Cup just around the corner. Fighting for equal treatment and funding as the men’s team is not a new battle for the women. It’s been going on with the women’s team for decades. But, you’d have thought that what they achieved in Tokyo would have earned them the respect of Canadian soccer’s governing body. Apparently winning an Olympic gold medal doesn’t carry that much weight with Canada Soccer.

Captain Christine Sinclair was diplomatic when speaking to reporters this week about the situation, saying, “As a team we are just at our wits' end.” But teammate Janine Beckie didn’t hold back in offering a sharp rebuke of Canada Soccer.  

“It's pretty disgusting that we're having to ask just to be treated equally. It's a fight that women all over the world have to partake in every single day but quite frankly we're really sick of it. And it's something that now I don't even get disappointed by anymore. I just get angry about it. … We won the damn Olympic Games and we're about to go to the World Cup with a team who could win,” Beckie seethed. 

At a time when they should be focused on competing in the biggest tournament of their lives, the women have instead been forced to fight for equal funding with the World Cup just five months away.

The mental toll on the players has been immense, to say the least. Midfielder Sophie Schmidt, one of only three players in the program’s history to collect 200 caps, was so beaten down that she told Priestman last Saturday that she was retiring from the national team with immediate effect and wanted to fly home. Priestman asked her to sleep on it, and Schmidt had a change of heart after Sinclair convinced her to stay. 

“The Sophie conversation, to be honest, was a little soul destroying for me,” Priestman admitted. 

She later added: "To have Sophie talk about retirement in floods of tears, that for me, more importantly for me as a coach working with players, that was really, really difficult. … That's the sort of emotional turmoil that's in there." 

This is what it’s come to with the women’s team: Priestman having to juggle her duties as coach with being a counselor. The Olympic champions having to go hat it hand to Canada Soccer, like a child begging their parents not to cut their allowance. Players returning to practice and agreeing to play in the SheBelieves Cup (under protest) because they simply can’t afford to be sued.  

It’s a shameful and disgraceful state of affairs, but you’d be mistaken to think this was a relatively new development. The Canada Women’s Soccer Alumni Association issued a public statement of support for the current players on Wednesday, explaining that the current conflict "is nothing new and is the result of a toxic, dishonest and broken system that has gone unchecked for the past 30 years." 

The more things change, the more they stay the same.