Canada Women’s national team ENDS strike with players to resume training ahead of the SheBelieves Cup following Canada Soccer’s threat of legal action – but captain Christine Sinclair warns ‘this is NOT over’ after ‘being forced back to work’
The Canadian Women’s national team strike is over with players to return to training and games after Canada Soccer threatened legal action following their protest over cuts to the team’s program.
Players did not practice earlier Saturday in preparation for this week’s SheBelieves Cup game against the rival US national team in Florida, after announcing a day earlier: ‘The time is now, we are taking job action.’
Representatives and legal counsel for Canada Soccer met Saturday with the team.
‘Prior to that meeting, Canada Soccer told us that they consider our job action to be an unlawful strike,’ the team said in a statement released Saturday night.
Players claimed Soccer Canada threatened to ‘not only take legal action to force us back to the pitch but would consider taking steps to collect what could be millions of dollars in damages from our players association and from each of the individual players currently in camp’ if they did not commit to playing in the tournament.
Canadian Women’s national team strike is over with players to return to training and games
Team captain Christine Sinclair warned ‘this is not over’ as she shared the statement Saturday
‘As individual players who have received no compensation yet for any of our work for Canada Soccer in 2022, we cannot afford the risks that personal action against us by Canada Soccer will create,’ the statement said.
‘Because of this, we have advised Canada Soccer that we will return to training tomorrow and will play in the SheBelieves Cup as scheduled.’
Captain Christine Sinclair shared the team statement on Twitter and added: ‘To be clear. We are being forced back to work for the short term. This is not over.
‘We will continue to fight for everything we deserve and we will win. The She Believes is being played in protest.
Dailymail.com has reached out to Canada Soccer for comment.
Canada’s women won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and qualified last summer for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, starting on July 20.
Canada was scheduled to play its opening SheBelieves Cup match against the United States on Thursday at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium. Japan and Brazil are also playing in the round-robin tournament that will visit three US cities.
Sinclair (No. 12) added: We will continue to fight for everything we deserve and we will win’
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