Solutions needed quickly for financially troubled Canada Soccer, men’s head coach Herdman says | CBC Sports

Canadian men’s soccer coach John Herdman says Canada Soccer needs to find solutions to its 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 in Toronto on the eve of Canada’s Gold Cup match against Guadeloupe.

He was asked to weigh in on the organization’s financial situation after TSN published an interview with Jason deVos, in which Canada Soccer’s interim general secretary said the organization might need to explore filing for bankruptcy.

“We have to find solutions and find them quick,” Herdman said. “It’s not about pointing fingers. I think the whole group has to come together. The whole game has to come together to find a genuine solution. To make sure our country can perform.

“The players have earned that right. The staff have earned that right. We shouldn’t be going backwards after a World Cup.”

WATCH | Canada Soccer’s Jason deVos commits to equality:

Canada Soccer committed to equal resources for men’s, women’s teams

Canada Soccer Interim General Secretary Jason deVos discusses the organization’s renewed commitment to providing an equal ‘standard of care’ for men’s and women’s national team programs.

Herdman said the expectation coming off Canada’s appearance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was that the finances would be in place to take the team to the next level.

“I think everyone expected coming off the World Cup that it was going to be all sunshine and rainbows,” Herdman said.

Soccer North is back with a focus on the Canadian women’s team as it prepares for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Join host Andi Petrillo and special guests each Friday for insight and analysis leading into the tournament. 

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.

WATCH | Still no word on equal pay for Canadian women’s soccer team:

Canadian women want pay dispute settled before World Cup

As Canada’s reigning Olympic champion women’s soccer team trains for the World Cup in July and August, the team still waits to hear about funding and equal pay.

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.

Over the past few weeks, members of Canada Soccer’s executive 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 agreement with Canadian Soccer Business.

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.