Due to a strike by players of the Canadian national football team, a test match with the Panamanian national team did not take place on Sunday. The players refused to go on the pitch because they could not agree on an employment contract with the federation. The decision was made by the footballers just a few hours before the scheduled match in Vancouver.
A statement released by the men’s national team said the decision not to leave the pitch was made after the players rejected a contract offer submitted to the team last Thursday.
The first statement also said talks between the federation and the national team, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 36 years this year, had taken place since March.
According to the players, the federation has unnecessarily prolonged the negotiation process, but the employment offer submitted on Thursday was not acceptable.
The second statement said Canada’s football team had resumed preparations for the World Cup, but no agreement had yet been reached with the federation.
“The players met with representatives of the federation on Sunday evening and discussions will continue, but all questions have not been answered and decisions have not been made yet,” the statement said.
The Canadian national team has a match against the Curaçao national team on Thursday and another game against Honduras next week.
