ONTARIO, June 7: Canada Soccer says its World Cup-bound men’s team has returned to practice after refusing to play an exhibition match against Panama because of strained labor negotiations.
The nation’s governing body announced Monday on social media that the two sides had met the night before. The team returned to practice in the afternoon.
Canada is set to play Curacao at Vancouver’s BC Place on Thursday in the CONCACAF National League. The federation did not note the upcoming game in its announcement. The players said in a brief statement on Monday: “We move forward in hopes that Canada Soccer will work with us to resolve the situation.”
The match against Panama was called off just about two hours before kickoff when players refused to take the field.
The players, preparing for Canada’s first World Cup appearance since 1986, didn’t practice on Friday or Saturday.
The team issued a statement on Sunday outlining its contract demands, including 40% of World Cup prize money, a travel package for friends and relatives and an “equitable structure with our women’s national team that shares the same player match fees, percentage of prize money earned at our respective FIFA World Cups and the development of a women’s domestic league.” (AP)
