We Can('t)
We Can('t)
On the brink of its greatest accomplishment in a generation, Canada Soccer still can't get out of its own way
It’s frustrating.
Ultimately, when it comes time to talk about the CanMNT’s dispute with the CSA right now the primary emotion most are feeling is frustration. How is it possible that the players and federation are so far apart when they should be flying high and building the sport together at a time when they will finally have the attention of the country?
But, yet here we are. The players want to get paid, and the CSA is saying that they can’t afford to give them what they want. That led to the wildcat strike in June that resulted in the Panama friendly being cancelled (which put further financial pressure on the federation).
Things haven’t gotten much better since. Today, it was reported by Rick Westhead on TSN that that Alphonso Davies will no longer permit his strip to be sold through the CSA’s website.
The most popular player in Canada, and a player that might become a household name in this country in a month’s time, and you won’t be able to buy his strip*? I guess that’s good news for Bayern Munich. Let’s hope the shipping isn’t that bad.
*This is assuming Canadians could have gotten their hands on the thing anyway. The lack of availability of product has long frustrated Canadian fans.
Hanging over all of this is the now infamous Canadian Soccer Business. and the contract that it holds with the CSA.
If you want details of the CSB agreement and what it means for the CSA I urge you to visit the article linked above. Westhead has done a great job of reporting this — and a great job of reporting, period. He’s one of Canada’s best investigative journalists working right now — and he explains the numbers better than I could here.
The tl;dr is that the money the CSA will earn from the World Cup is mostly earmarked for CSB. The CSA says that if they gave the players what they are asking for (80% of the prize money and an equal share to the women) that they would end up losing money by making the World Cup.
Losing money by making the World Cup. Only in Canada, eh?
So, like I said, it’s frustrating. And concerning about what the dispute might mean for the World Cup performance.
That said, I’m going to break a rule now and, sort of, defend the CSA, partly. At least as it relates CSB.
Whenever the CSB gets reported on it is described as a “little known company.” Although that’s correct, I will argue that isn’t on the CSA or CSB. They never hid that the company was being formed (I know this because I reported on it at the time), nor what its general purpose was. Although we never heard the details of the agreement — and we can certainly criticize how much the CSA gave away in the deal — we always knew what the company’s purpose was and why we needed to have it.
And we did need it. That’s the thing that is often lost right now. There is no CanPL without CSB. There isn’t.
Which puts us in an awkward position now. We all want the players to get what they deserve, but we also all want the CanPL to survive. A significant restructuring of the CSB deal puts the latter in serious danger.
As someone who spent years shouting down those who argued that the CanPL had no chance of success — an opinion that was informed by my knowledge of what CSB was and what it would allow — I am deeply ambivalent about what is happening right now.
If you love the CanPL you should be too. Yes, the deal is far too one sided (it also betrays that the CSA didn’t think they were going to qualify for Qatar. This deal was about building to co-hosting in 2026), and, yes, the players should benefit from qualifying.
But should we put the league and the future at risk to do that?
As I said: frustrating.
I’m sure we will have much more to say on this in the days ahead. In the meantime, I would appreciate your support in allowing me to dedicate as much time as possible in covering Canadian soccer for the rest of the year by tipping me at my Patreon.