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.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
