Canada captain Christine Sinclair has said her team’s surprise early exit from the World Cup should serve as a “wake-up call” to Canada Soccer, amid a year of fierce conflict between the federation and the women’s national team.
Australia hammered Canada 4-0 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Monday, vaulting the host nation to a first-place finish in Group B, with Nigeria earning second place after drawing Ireland 0-0.
Those results left Canada, the defending Olympic champions, in third place on four points and heading home early.
The early exit comes amid a difficult year that has seen Canada’s women’s and men’s national teams in open conflict with their federation over alleged financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency, among other issues.
The Canadian government has taken up an interest in the situation, holding public hearings earlier this year after Canada’s women’s team moved to strike during February’s SheBelieves Cup.
Canada’s women’s national team has charged that they were not adequately prepared for the 2023 World Cup, with a lack of funds shortening the pre-tournament training camp.
“We have been forced to choose between compensation and the funding required to hold necessary training camps,” a statement from the women’s national team players read upon agreement of an interim compensation deal last week.
Speaking to reporters after her team crashed out of the World Cup, Sinclair said that although the result was on the players, it should nevertheless serve as a call to action for Canada Soccer.
“As a team, we’ve moved on from the SheBelieves [Cup] and obviously the battles with the federation, but I think what you’re seeing in women’s football is teams are catching up,” the 40-year-old said. “This for me is a wake-up call for back home, a wake-up call to our federation: the lack of a professional league, the lack of resources for the national teams, a lack of resources for the youth national teams, similar to the men’s side.
“If the resources aren’t there, we’re going to fall behind. I think if this isn’t a warning sign, I don’t know what is.”
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