\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFind out more <\/a><\/p>\nThe mounting enquiries followed the Canadian national men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer teams’ public questioning of the arrangement between the two parties, culminating in the Canadian Soccer Players Association (CSPA) filing a $40 million lawsuit against Canada Soccer\u2019s board members in February 2024.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit centered on Canada Soccer\u2019s controversial 10-year deal with Canadian Soccer Business (CSB), a new entity established in March 2018 to represent the commercial assets, including sponsorship and broadcast deals, for the national teams through 2028.<\/p>\n
Since CSB began handling commercial properties for Canada Soccer, high-profile companies including Carlsberg, Visa, Canadian Club, Gatorade, and GE Appliances have been added as partners.<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer does not hold an ownership stake in CSB but was\u00a0paid a set amount each year, around $3 million to $4 million, with the rest used by CSB\u00a0to help fund the growing top-tier Canadian Premier League (CPL).<\/p>\n
The lawsuit said that the yearly fee increased \u201conly slightly over the initial nine years of the CSB agreement and not at all during the 10-year renewal period,\u201d while \u201call other revenue generated by CSB in respect of the national teams is retained by CSB.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams only found out about the deal the year prior when negotiating their respective collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), with the players stating they were never formally informed about the initial deal or details of its financial arrangements.<\/p>\n
Explaining its role last week, CBS said the partnership represented a \u201cthird-party rightsholder relationship\u201d whereby it shares revenue gained by selling sponsorship and broadcast deals, adding its arrangement is not dissimilar to the deal between the US Soccer Federation and Soccer United Marketing that ran from 2004 to 2022.<\/p>\n
Citing questions being raised about the deal\u2019s fairness and viability, CSB said it has now entered \u201cgood faith negotiations\u201d with Canada Soccer to hash out a new agreement \u201cthat better reflects a fair and appropriate sharing of the value of Canada Soccer\u2019s commercial rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cWe are not able to mention the specific deal points at this time. In general, topics being discussed include how the partnership is governed, how revenue is shared between the parties, the breadth of rights and assets that comprise the partnership, and ways to increase broadcast distribution and visibility of the national teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wider picture<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer has had a tumultuous relationship with its men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams, with both sides embroiled in bitter labor talks at various points in the past five years.<\/p>\n
What started as bubbling tensions behind the scenes turned into a public spat in June 2022 when the men\u2019s team boycotted a planned friendly against Panama, citing \u201cunnecessarily prolonged\u201d talks over their new CBA.<\/p>\n
At the time, players said they wanted 40% of World Cup prize money, a friends and family travel package, and an \u201cequitable structure with our women\u2019s 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\u2019s domestic league.”<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s national team subsequently formed a players\u2019 association, the Canadian Men\u2019s National Soccer Team Players Association (CMNSTPA), to continue the negotiations. The new body covers players who have been called into any men\u2019s national team camp since January 2021.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s team followed suit a year later, threatening to strike during the annual SheBelieves Cup due to budget cuts, equal pay issues, and an overall lack of support from Canada Soccer.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s team, represented by the Canadian Soccer Players Association (CSPA), ended up calling off the strike but were supported by the men\u2019s team, who piled on the pressure by calling for a change of leadership if \u201cCanada Soccer is not willing to take immediate action to respond to the players\u2019 demands and concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
In isolation, the threats and callouts were a normal part of labor negotiations, with far worse seen in higher-profile sports leagues, including basketball\u2019s NBA and WNBA.<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer ended up reaching an\u00a0interim funding agreement with the women\u2019s team\u00a0after an escalation between the two parties saw Nick Bontis resign as president of the national governing body.<\/p>\n
However, far from the issue being put to bed, the negotiations unearthed the agreement between Canada Soccer and CSB, leading to the women\u2019s union digging deeper and filing its lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The furor that ensued led to the Canadian government\u2019s Heritage Committee wading in, with senior executives from Canada Soccer hauled in front of the committee to explain how the organization is governed and its opaque contract with CSB, while also hearing testimony from four women\u2019s national team players.<\/p>\n
Along with questions over its transparency, CSB was accused of failing to canvas the market for competing bids, failing to conduct appropriate diligence concerning the fair market value of Canada Soccer\u2019s media and sponsorship rights, and failing to make adequate disclosures to the membership of Canada Soccer.<\/p>\n
It was also claimed that the board failed to follow necessary approval processes after members retroactively approved the CSB agreement in February 2019, leading to five members reportedly voicing\u00a0concern over the process.<\/p>\n
Following the hearing, the CSB expressed its willingness to amend its deal with Canada Soccer, with CSB\u2019s then-chief executive Mark Noonan saying the company was being proactive in engaging the governing body to renegotiate the contract.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
To reset its relationship and reputation, CSB appointed former Football Australia head James Johnson as its new group chief executive in May 2025, to replace outgoing Mark Noonan, who doubled as commissioner of the CPL and chief executive of CSB.<\/p>\n
Johnson now heads up both the CSB and CPL, while also sitting on the board of OneSoccer, the soccer streaming service that was set up as a joint venture with sports rights agency Mediapro and CSB.<\/p>\n
Last month, Canada Soccer\u2019s chief executive and general secretary said the governing body had reached a \u201cframework\u201d for its long-awaited labor agreement with its men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams, but stipulated that officially signing off on the new deals is contingent on a reworked agreement with CSB.<\/p>\n
Shortly after, Johnson said the reworked deal was close to completion, adding: \u201cWe’re in a great spot. We’re not there yet, but we’re not too far off. [An agreement] will definitely be in place before the World Cup. I’m hoping it’s much earlier than the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a co-host of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the US and Mexico, Canada has been awarded automatic qualification into the tournament, which is due to run from June 11 to July 19.<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s national team are currently sitting at 26th in FIFA\u2019s global soccer rankings \u2013 the highest the team has ever reached \u2013 with highly regarded coach in Jesse Marsch and players that compete in top European clubs, including Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Jonathan David (Juventus), Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto) and Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal).<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s women\u2019s team won Olympic gold in 2021 and is ranked ninth in the world. The team\u2019s talisman, Olivia Smith, became the first \u00a31 million signing in women\u2019s soccer after joining Arsenal from Liverpool last year.<\/p>\n
Soccer, meanwhile, is the highest participation sport in Canada, with almost one million registered players, and CSB will be looking to capitalize on the upcoming men\u2019s World Cup, as well as the women\u2019s edition in 2027, to grow the domestic game and increase its revenue.<\/p>\n
Its full ownership of OneSoccer after the Mediapro agency departed in 2024 has been cited as one of the ways CSB is looking to capture new domestic audiences and increase its income.<\/p>\n
That service has rights to Canadian national team matches in Concacaf competitions such as the Nations League and the Gold Cup, as well as the CPL and, most recently, Germany\u2019s top-tier Bundesliga, but is looking to increase its portfolio with more premium competitions, including rights to the English Premier League currently held by Fubo TV.<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer\u2019s long-term deal with Nike, meanwhile, is due to expire this year, with CSB confident of its position ahead of negotiations. Back when the pair\u2019s original agreement was struck, the men\u2019s team was ranked 78th in the FIFA rankings, while the team\u2019s visibility at the upcoming World Cup and star players will give CSB a strong platform to increase its fees.<\/p>\n
In October, CSB published its vision for the future of the game in Canada, citing Johnson\u2019s arrival 100 days prior as \u201ca moment to reset direction, strengthen collaboration, and define how the organizations that best contribute to the game\u2019s next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Touted as a \u2018living document\u2019 that will continue to evolve through consultations with the Canadian soccer stakeholders, the CSB plans to launch an updated version later this year to serve as a framework for how CSB operates and how its impact can be assessed going forward.<\/p>\n
Johnson said of the document: \u201cIt sets out who we are, what we stand for, and how we can be measured as we move forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe want to listen and learn. This Vision is about transparency and partnership, about inviting others to help us shape how CSB can add the most value to Canadian soccer\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
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