Herdman: Solutions needed quickly for financially troubled Canada Soccer

Canadian men's soccer head coach John Herdman says it's time for everyone to come together for a solution to Canada Soccer's financial troubles.

With a World Cup coming in three years, he adds, it has to happen quickly.

Herdman spoke to reporters Monday at BMO Field on the eve of Canada's CONCACAF Gold Cup opener against Guadeloupe.

"It's clear there's a financial challenge," he said. "Coming off a World Cup, I think (everyone) expected that it was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, there was going to be finances to take the team to the next level and it's not.

"That's a leadership challenge for the organization, we have to find solutions and find them quick. It's not about pointing fingers, the whole group has to come together … to find a genuine solution, to make sure our country can perform.

"These players have earned that right. The staff have earned that right. We shouldn't be going backwards after a World Cup but we do understand that the expectations have gone up in this country."

Canada Soccer and its men's and women's teams have been embroiled in a labour dispute for more than a year. The women's team is scheduled to report to a pre-tournament camp in Australia's Gold Coast on Wednesday.

The women have been without a labour deal since the last one expired at the end of 2021. The men are working on their first formal labour agreement.

Both teams have taken job action: the men boycotted a planned friendly game in Vancouver against Panama in June 2022 over their dissatisfaction with the progress of the labour talks; while earlier this year, the Canadian women threatened to strike at the SheBelieves Cup in the U.S.

The women's team returned to the field after Canada Soccer threatened legal action.

Over the past few weeks, members of Canada Soccer's executive group have been called upon to testify before the House of Commons's standing heritage committee, where parliamentarians grilled members of the organization over its controversial broadcast agreement with Canadian Soccer Business (CSB).

Under the terms of the deal, CSB pays Canada Soccer a set amount each year and keeps the rest, which helps fund the Canadian Premier League. 

Herdman's squad is entering the Gold Cup without some of its biggest stars after falling short of winning its first trophy since 2000, losing 2-0 to the U.S. in the Nations League final on June 18. 

Canada was already set to be missing Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan, Alistair Johnston, Atiba Hutchinson and Ismael Kone.

But the team announced earlier Monday that Stephen Eustáquio and Samuel Adekugbe have been replaced by Jayden Nelson and Liam Fraser in the lineup.

The 47th-ranked Canadians head to Houston's Shell Energy Stadium to complete Group D play against No. 116 Guatemala on July 1 and No. 165 Cuba on July 4.

Canada is 2-1-0 all-time against Guadeloupe and have not lost at BMO Field since September 2010 when they were beaten 2-0 by Peru.

However, Herdman has been pleased with the effort and energy his team has shown leading up to the tournament and wants to see them continue to evolve.

"I think they're gonna have to grow through the tournament," he said. "From what I've seen from the first three days of training, it's not cohesive yet, it's not right there and that's normal for a group that are new together.

"They got to stay positive, they've got to be resilient in these moments because Guadeloupe have quality and that quality will test them."

Herdman was also clear with his expectations in the 16-country tournament, which runs through July 16 across 15 stadiums in 14 cities.

"As I said to the boys, by the group stage, you want your nine points in the bag," Herdman said. "Top of the group, that's the key, so you control your destiny.

"How you get those nine points, is a growth, it's a journey. I'm not expecting perfection … My expectation is, embrace the fight that's coming. Stay together, live what you can and the tactical identity you've learned and play fearlessly."