Their demands have been heard. Two weeks after leading a strike to denounce gender inequalities and the lack of funding, the Canadian women’s football team learned of the resignation of the president of the Federation, Nick Bontis, on Monday, February 27. The latter recognized the need for a “change”, thus justifying his departure.
“Although I have been one of the biggest supporters of an equal system in the environment linked to performance in competitions, for our women’s national team, I will unfortunately no longer be leading the federation when that happens,” explained Nick. Bontis, in a press release. “I recognize that the current context requires a change,” he added, specifying that his resignation is effective immediately.
“A historic collective agreement” in the process of being signed
“Canada Soccer (the Federation) and our national team programs are in the process of signing a historic collective agreement,” he said without giving details, promising a “flagship agreement that will set ‘ Canada ‘ apart from virtually all other FIFA member associations”. Earlier Monday, the 13 provincial and territorial federations had sent a letter calling on Nick Bontis to step down, according to the sports television channel TSN.
While the move was supported by the men’s team, the move was halted due to the threat of legal action against them by the federation, and the reigning Olympic champions went on to play in the SheBelieves Cup in Florida, a tournament preparatory friendly for the Women’s World Cup this summer.
According to the emblematic captain of the team, Christine Sinclair, in 2021 the Federation granted more than 11 million Canadian dollars (just over seven million euros) to the men’s team, against approximately five million Canadian dollars to the women’s team, while the previous year, the expenses devoted by the federation were almost identical: a little more than three million dollars for the men and 2.8 million for the women. Last year, the Americans, double reigning world champions, reached an agreement with their federation to establish equal pay with the men’s team.
