While Olympic champion Canada has exited the FIFA Women’s World Cup after the group stage, 16 teams are still in contention.
The expanded 32-country tournament already boasts record ticket sales, improved prize money and new faces. A look at five things from the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Canada’s early exit at the tournament will not help Canada Soccer’s bottom line as much as it no doubt hoped.
According to FIFA, participating member associations whose teams do not survive the group stage each receive $1.56 million US from the world governing body to “support football development in their countries.”
That rises to $1.87 million for reaching the round of 16, $2.18 million for making the quarterfinal, $2.455 million for fourth place, $2.61 million for third, $3.015 million for second and $4.29 million for winning it all.
Player payments come out of that prize money with FIFA suggesting a range of base payments per athlete from $30,000 for those exiting after the group stage to $270,000 per player on the champion team.
Christine Sinclair says World Cup exit a ‘wake-up call’ for Canada Soccer
Following Canada’s 4-0 loss to Australia and exit from the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Christine Sinclair told CBC News’ Lyndsay Duncombe that she thinks the defeat is a “wake-up call” to Canada Soccer.
Some federations have their own payment structure in place so the actual player payments will differ. The Canadian women struck an interim labour deal with Canada Soccer during their stay in Australia that covers compensation for both 2023 and the tournament.
Terms of the agreement were not released.
In addition to the prize money, each of the 32 competing teams received some $960,000 in preparation money for use ahead of the tournament.
Total compensation on the rise
The FIFA payday goes to Canada Soccer and not Canadian Soccer Business, which handles its marketing and sponsorship.
FIFA notes the $152 million in total compensation at this year’s women’s tournament, which including the prize money plus preparation payments for the 32 teams and compensation paid to clubs, is three times more than what was on offer four years ago in France and more than 10 times the amount offered at the 2015 tournament in Canada.
But it is still well short of what the men get.
The total prize pool at last year’s 32-country tournament in Qatar was $440 million with the teams failing to advance out of the group stage like Canada — those finishing 17th through 32nd — each receiving $9 million.
Argentina, as winner, collected $42 million in prize money.
The Canadian men, also in a bitter labour dispute with Canada Soccer, say they have yet to see any of the Qatar prize money.
In addition, all 32 men’s entrants were given $1.5 million ahead of the tournament to cover preparation costs.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the world governing body’s goal is to have equal prize money at the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups.
The official word
The decision to have referees announce the result of video reviews has been a hit to date at the tournament.
It has added a degree of drama with fans in the stands waiting to hear the verdict. The practice was first used earlier this year at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco and the Men’s U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
Sophie Schmidt shoulders the blame in her final World Cup match
A “gutted” Sophie Schmidt spoke with CBC News’ Lyndsay Duncombe after Canada was eliminated in a 4-0 loss to Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Before the tournament, Schmidt announced she would retire from international soccer after the World Cup.
FIFA says the objective is to help fans in the stadium and TV viewers understand what is going on with referees announcing the play in question, the outcome and the reason why.
The announcement in English are made through a microphone linked to the PA system with some referees handling the language better than others.
Making their mark
Haiti, Ireland, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Vietnam and Zambia have been welcome additions to the women’s tournament.
The 46th-ranked Philippines shocked No. 26 New Zealand while No. 72 Morocco upset No. 17 South Korea, both by 1-0 scores. No. 77 Zambia downed No. 36 Costa Rica 3-1.
No. 53 Haiti lost its first two games against No. 4 England and No. 14 China, but only by 1-0 scores. No. 22 Ireland gave No. 7 Canada and No. 10 Australia all they could handle, before falling 2-1 and 1-0 respectively.
And 25th-ranked Colombia, in its third trip to the tournament, recorded a shock 2-1 win over No. 2 Germany. It was just the Germans’ second loss time in 26 Women’s World Cup group-stage matches and first since a 3-2 loss to Sweden in 1995.
FIFA says of the 17 teams that previously made their Women’s World Cup debuts this century, 11 failed to win a match at their debut tournament. Only three survived the group phase to make the knockout rounds — with Switzerland, the Netherlands and Cameroon moving on in 2015 in Canada.
Milestone goal
Zambia’s Barbra Banda scored the tournament’s 1,000th goal, converting a penalty in Monday’s 3-1 win over Costa Rica in Hamilton.
FIFA says the milestone came 31 years eight months 15 days after China’s Ma Li scored in a 4-0 win over Norway in the opening match of the inaugural 1991 tournament.
Canada, by the numbers
In leading Canada out against Australia on Monday, captain Christine Sinclair made her 23rd Women’s World Cup start which equals retired American Joy Fawcett for second-most in tournament history.
American Kristine Lilly, also retired, tops the list at 29.
It marked the sixth World Cup for the 40-year-old Sinclair, with veteran midfielder Sophie Schmidt taking part in her fifth tournament. Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, defender Vanessa Gilles, midfielder Julia Grosso and forwards Cloe Lacasse, Olivia Smith and Evelyne Viens made their World Cup debuts.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
