The reigning champions came out for warmups at the SheBelieves Cup with their practice jerseys turned inside out, a show of displeasure for the federation that refuses to treat them equally.
Sound familiar? It should. Three years after the U.S. women did this to take U.S. Soccer to task, Canada’s Olympic gold medalists staged a similar protest Thursday night over their shoddy treatment by Canada Soccer. They followed it by coming out for the national anthems in purple shirts with “Enough is enough” written in big, bold letters.
“Purple has historically been associated with efforts to achieve gender equality,” Canada’s players union said in a statement before the game, which the USWNT won 2-0. “Considering the current circumstances, our players will continue to wear purple until our association has standards in place that ensure equal treatment and opportunity.”
A word of warning for Canada Soccer: This won’t end well for you.
It doesn’t matter if an accountant can vouch for the federation’s math or a judge finds there’s merit to its arguments that it has to cut costs. The Canadian women are successful, bronze medalists at the previous two Olympics before winning gold in Tokyo, and their players are personable and popular. Captain Christine Sinclair is a national treasure as well as international soccer’s all-time leading scorer, male or female.
With the World Cup less than six months away, even the suggestion the women are being short-changed will be seen as petty and disgraceful. The judgment in the court of public opinion will be decisive, and Canada Soccer will only look worse the longer this drags out.
Just ask the folks at U.S. Soccer.
The USWNT sued their bosses for gender discrimination three months before the start of the 2019 World Cup, and there was little doubt where public sentiment was. As the U.S. women celebrated winning their second consecutive World Cup title, and fourth overall, chants of “Equal pay! Equal pay!” echoed throughout the stadium in Lyon, France.
A judge dismissed the USWNT’s lawsuit, a decision the women appealed. But before the case could be heard, the USWNT and U.S. Soccer reached agreement on a $24 million settlement. U.S. Soccer also said it would pay the USWNT and USMNT equally going forward, and last May finalized groundbreaking deals that include sharing prize money from the World Cups and other comparable tournaments.
After years of being viewed as condescending and misogynistic for its treatment of the USWNT, by far its most successful team, U.S. Soccer is now seen as a leader in gender equity, the standard for other federations to emulate.
“U.S. Soccer really stepped up in a huge way last year,” Alex Morgan said Wednesday. “We’re expecting more federations to do the right thing. We’ve already seen some … and we’re just hoping that domino effect takes place sooner than later because it’s overdue.”
That domino effect is what makes this a no-win situation for Canada Soccer.
The USWNT showed that achieving gender equity is possible, leaving other federations with no excuse. Australia, Norway, Denmark and Spain all have pledged to close the gaps between their men’s and women’s teams.
Even Brazil, which has long treated its women’s team as an afterthought, has made a noticeable commitment to the program.
“We can’t take (a) step back,” Marta told The Athletic on Thursday when asked her thoughts about the Canadian women. “This is not acceptable.”
The Canadian women aren’t fighting for equal pay so much as equal treatment.
Soccer is at the height of its popularity in Canada, with the Canadian men following the women’s gold medal by qualifying for their first World Cup in 36 years, and the country will co-host the men’s World Cup in 2026 with Mexico and the United States. Interest from fans and sponsors alike is increasing.
Yet Canada Soccer told both teams it was slashing their budgets this year. Because the women have a World Cup this year, the effect is being felt immediately.
“(We) are being told to prepare to perform at a world-class level without the same level of support that was received by the Men’s National Team in 2022, and with significant cuts to our program – to simply make do with less,” the Canadian women said in a statement last Friday.
“We’ve had to cut not only training camp days but full camp windows, cut the number of players and staff invited into camps. … We have been told, quite literally, that Canada Soccer cannot adequately fund the Women’s National Team, and they have waited to tell us this until now, when we are less than six months from the World Cup.”
It’s one thing to spin numbers on compensation. But disparities tend to become unacceptably glaring when you can do line-item comparisons.
Canada Soccer no doubt hopes this will die down after the SheBelieves tournament, but good luck with that. The Canadian men have asked Canada’s sports minister to intervene. Both national teams are pressing for Canada Soccer to open its books.
Now the USWNT and their supporters have taken up the cause.
Many of the U.S. women wore purple and white wristbands for Thursday night’s game against the Canadians. Before kickoff, they gathered at midfield with their rivals to the north in a show of solidarity. Fans held up signs supporting the Canadian players.
“There’s just some things that are so much bigger than what is happening on the field, and this is one of them,” Megan Rapinoe said. “This is about basic human rights and respect, getting what they deserve.”
It’s all so familiar, and no doubt the outcome will be, too. You cannot win this, Canada Soccer. The only question is how big do you want to lose.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.
Story Credit: usatoday.com