Canada Soccer announces ‘transformational’ rights deal with CSME

Canada Soccer and Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment (formerly Canadian Soccer Business) announced Friday they have renewed and restructured their long-standing commercial partnership, reworking a deal that will govern sponsorship, media, and licensing rights for more than a decade and shape how the sport’s national body finances its ambitions through and beyond the 2026 World Cup.

The agreement, which runs from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2037, marks what both organizations describe as a more favourable and better-aligned commercial framework for Canada Soccer, following years of criticism and internal strain over how the federation monetized its most valuable assets.

Kevin Blue, Canada Soccer’s chief executive officer, called the agreement “transformational,” particularly as interest in the sport grows ahead of the men’s World Cup that Canada will co-host with the United States and Mexico this June and July.

Rather than relying solely on fixed annual payments from CSME to Canada Soccer, the partnership is a revenue-sharing arrangement, supported by guaranteed annual minimums.

Both CSME and Canada Soccer will each retain 50 per cent of adjusted gross revenue for the first $10 million each year. Canada Soccer will retain an additional 1 per cent to its share for each additional $1 million in gross revenue. Once gross revenue reaches $22.5 million, Canada Soccer keeps 70 per cent of all remaining adjusted revenue.

The deal also will see CSME agree that Canada Soccer will keep 70 per cent of adjusted gross revenue beginning Jan. 1, 2029, through the end of the contract, or make a payment to Canada Soccer of $19.5 million (paid in two installments during the balance of the contract).

“The higher the revenue goes, the more we capture, it’s the opposite of the way it worked before where we did not gain anything with more sponsorship sales and revenue growth,” Blue said in an interview with TSN, adding that the new agreement would generate well over $100 million more in net revenue over the course of 12 years than the existing deal called for.

The renewed partnership includes “look-in periods” every three years, allowing both sides to review terms to ensure the deal represents fair market value.

The agreement expands CSME’s mandate to include Canada Soccer’s licensing activities, bringing them under the same umbrella as sponsorship and media rights.

James Johnson, CSME’s group chief executive officer, described the partnership as an integrated platform focused on performance and innovation across the business of soccer in Canada.

“We want the national teams to be relevant in the market,” Johnson said in an interview with TSN.

For Canada Soccer, the announcement comes after a turbulent period in which the federation’s commercial arrangements became a flashpoint for players, lawmakers, and fans.

After TSN reported in July 2022 that CSB and Canada Soccer had signed what was effectively a 20-year media and sponsorship contract that saw CSB paid Canada Soccer an annual fee of between $3 million and $4 million, the deal drew sharp criticism from members of the men’s and women’s national teams, who argued that the federation had signed away too much future revenue at a time when the sport’s popularity and earning potential was rising.

Those tensions spilled into public view when the men’s national team players went on strike and refused to play a match in Vancouver against Panama, before the association representing the women’s national team players filed a $40-million lawsuit against the Canada Soccer board members who signed the controversial agreement with CSB.

At least some of the revenue generated through the new agreement will be reinvested into senior and youth national team programs, coaching, referee development, and grassroots and community soccer initiatives, Johnson said.

A commitment to broadcast distribution is another pillar of the agreement. CSME and Canada Soccer pledged wide broadcast exposure for all senior national team matches played in Canada, as well as international matches held in time zones accessible to Canadian audiences.

Currently, CSME is in a mediation with Rogers Communications over a dispute over whether Rogers should be obligated to carry the One Soccer television channel on basic cable, which would give it wider distribution.

Johnson said the mediation process is close to complete.

The timing of the deal underscores the stakes involved. With Canada preparing to co-host the 2026 men’s World Cup, the sport is entering what many see as a once-in-a-generation window. Broadcast rights, sponsorships, merchandise, and fan engagement are all poised to grow, particularly if the national teams continue to perform on the international stage.

“Right now there are 700,000 registered soccer players in Canada, a year from now we expect there to be 800,000,” Johnson said. “There is so much room for growth. We want to see national team players in licensing deals and their images at airports and on kids backpacks and water bottles and juice boxes.”

Canada Soccer also remains in negotiations with the players’ associations representing the senior national teams. The federation said those groups are working closely with it to finalize the details of a collective bargaining agreement that will be put forward for ratification.

A redacted term sheet accompanying the announcement outlined the structure of the contract but left key dollar amounts confidential.