Canada Soccer: National women's team to go on strike over funding cuts, says captain Christine Sinclair

Canada women won Olympic golden astatine the Tokyo 2020 Games

Canada skipper Christine Sinclair says the nationalist women's squad volition spell connected onslaught successful protestation implicit wage equity and a deficiency of backing that they judge volition compromise their performances.

They are acceptable to look the United States successful the SheBelieves Cup connected 17 February.

"As a squad we person decided to instrumentality occupation action," Sinclair told broadcaster TSN.

"From this infinitesimal connected we volition not beryllium participating successful immoderate [Canada Soccer] activities until this is resolved - whether that's training, whether that's games.

"That's precise hard to accidental arsenic an jock who wants to vie and correspond Canada, but capable is enough."

Canada are sixth successful the satellite rankings and won Olympic golden successful 2021.

In a connection released by the Canadian Soccer Players' Association (CSPA), players said they are "outraged and profoundly concerned" by reporting backing cuts astatine the nationalist body.

"We are demanding contiguous change," the connection read.

"We expect and merit thing little than to beryllium treated arsenic and reasonably and to person our programme - and our World Cup preparations - funded appropriately.

"We are near feeling frustrated and, erstwhile again, profoundly disrespected by Canada Soccer."

The connection has been supported by the men's team, who went connected onslaught past twelvemonth successful a quality implicit World Cup prize money.

Forward Janine Beckie, speaking alongside Sinclair aft the statement's release, said the squad would not play the SheBelieves lucifer if the issues were not resolved.

"This is the men and women's squad unneurotic taking enactment against a federation which has mistreated america for acold excessively long, and we person been acold excessively bully for acold excessively long," she said.

"At this constituent we volition not beryllium training, we volition not beryllium attending meetings. Any scheduled enactment with the nationalist squad successful the adjacent future, we volition not instrumentality portion in."

Canada Soccer said it would conscionable the women's squad players connected Saturday for further talks, insisting it has a "proven way record" of supporting the women's game.

The Women's World Cup takes spot from 20 July to 20 August successful Australia and New Zealand.

'We are bushed of perpetually warring for just treatment'

The joint-player connection said Canada Soccer had chopped grooming campy days and afloat campy windows, which would interaction the team's World Cup preparations.

The squad said they had been "patiently negotiating" with Canada Soccer for much than a twelvemonth but were being told to "make bash with less".

They added they felt "frustrated and profoundly disrespected" by the "unacceptable burden" placed connected their shoulders.

"We are bushed of perpetually having to combat for just and adjacent treatment, and for a programme that volition springiness america a accidental to execute what we cognize this squad is susceptible of achieving for Canada," the connection continued.

"This deficiency of enactment threatens to reverse the advancement we've made arsenic a shot federation and to nonstop america backmost to obscurity.

"The nationalist teams cannot spend to beryllium the lone ones warring for our occurrence immoderate longer. Enough was capable a agelong clip ago."

Canada Soccer said it had issued a "mutually agreed retroactive payment" aft "months of negotiations" with the team.

"We presented an equity-based connection to our nationalist teams and their counsel respective months agone and we are inactive waiting for a definitive effect to the presumption of that proposal," the governing assemblage added.

Canada men 'wholeheartedly support' women's team

The women's team's connection comes 8 months aft Canada's men's nationalist squad went connected onslaught amid its ain quality with Canada Soccer.

In June 2022, men's players released a missive accusing the organisation of "disrespecting" the squad successful narration to negotiations astir prize wealth for the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar.

On Friday, the men's squad said they were "deeply disappointed" successful Canada Soccer and "wholeheartedly support" the women's team's statement.

They added it was "outrageous" their counterparts were not being adequately supported successful the pb up to the Women's World Cup.

"We are astatine a pivotal infinitesimal successful clip for shot successful Canada," the men's squad said.

"This is simply a once-in-a-generation, possibly once-in-a-lifetime accidental to turn the athletics successful Canada, and the existent enactment of Canada Soccer is putting that accidental astatine risk."

Canada, on with the United States and Mexico, volition big the adjacent men's World Cup successful 2026.