Financially struggling Canadian Soccer took steps to improve its bottom line on Saturday, voting to increase players’ annual fees by $4 starting in 2025.
Soccer players saw their dues rise from $9 to $13, which the Canadian Soccer Association said was the first increase since 2017.
Canada Soccer also has a new president-elect in Peter Augruso. The Ontario Soccer president and president is running unopposed after incumbent Charmaine Crooks announced before the vote that she would not seek re-election to pursue other opportunities.
The fee increase came in the form of two motions at the annual general meeting in Montreal.
The first called for a $3 increase in contributions to state-run institutions. The second requested an additional $1 increase, with half going to Canada’s National Youth Program and the other half to Project 8, the group behind a national women’s professional league currently under construction.
Given that national membership is approximately 739,642, according to Canada Soccer’s 2023 annual report, a $3 fee increase would generate an additional $2.2 million using current figures.
Kevin Blue, president and secretary-general of Canada Soccer, said the fee increase was “one element of a much broader effort to increase revenue” for the governing body.
Membership fees account for approximately 20 per cent of Canadian soccer revenue, according to the organization’s 2023 annual report. The rest comes from commercial and other fees (46%), FIFA and CONCACAF subsidies (22%), government subsidies (11%) and the 2026 FIFA World Cup (1%), according to the report.
Labor peace has not yet been achieved
Crooks was elevated from vice-president to president in February 2023 when Nick Bontis resigned and acknowledged with the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams that change was needed to achieve labor peace.
Crooks then defeated former Canadian Soccer vice-president Rob Newman in the May 2023 presidential election.
Labor peace has not yet been achieved.
The lack of funding for Canada’s youth teams has been a point of contention among senior players worried about their future.
Crooks, a five-time Olympian who won a silver medal in the 4×400-metre track relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, has been on the Canadian Soccer Committee since 2012-13 and has served as vice-president since January 2021.
The role of the president is unpaid, and Blue is the top employee.
New board members include Gayle Statton (BC/Yukon), Terri Mattuci (Ontario), Terry Delblond (Quebec) and independent directors Brad Baker and Davide Xausa.
Statton has served as president of BC Soccer since November 2020. Mattucci is Senior Director of Strategy and Growth Marketing at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Xausa, 48, is a former Canadian international who played 31 times for Canada between 1999 and 2003. Baker is from North Vancouver and is a member of the Squamish Nation.
8 added to board
The board of directors has 14 directors, including the chairman and vice-chairman. Not everyone was in attendance for Saturday’s by-election.
Kevin Colbow (BC), Natasha Irani, Paul Martin, Peter Raco and John Zerucelli (Ontario), Pierre Marchand and Martial Prud’homme (Quebec), and Filipe Dinis (Independent) ran unsuccessfully as candidates for the board.
The meeting also saw the release of Canada Soccer’s 2033 Annual Report. The organization’s final audited financial figures for 2023 are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Blue already gave a preview of what’s to come in its March 30 update, noting that it expects an operating deficit of $4 million against a total cost of $30 million in its fiscal 2024 budget.
The Project 8 Women’s League was officially granted membership at Soccer Canada’s 2023 Annual Meeting. The board has since confirmed that the six women’s clubs can proceed with operations and preparations for launch in 2025.
Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax have already been confirmed as cities for Project 8 clubs, with information on the other clubs yet to be announced. 6 is the minimum number for a league to start.
“We look forward to working with Peter (Augruso) and Canada Soccer’s newly elected Board of Directors to together create a path for the long-term growth and prosperity of women’s soccer in Canada,” said former Canada international Diana Matheson. Project 8’s CEO and co-founder said in a statement:
“Canada Soccer’s continued support of our league highlights our shared commitment to fostering inclusivity, equity and excellence in soccer for girls and women at all levels.”
Matheson presented Project 8 at the annual meeting.
