(Toronto) Jason deVos argued that the word “disappointment” wasn’t strong enough to describe Canada’s quick elimination, the reigning Olympic champion, from the Women’s World Cup of soccer.
Canada Soccer’s acting general secretary has said a complete review of the tournament and the women’s program will take place.
“What I can say is (coach) Bev (Priestman) has my full support. She knows it,” deVos said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“Bev of course spends some time with her family,” he added. When she’s ready, I’ll sit with her. We will review what happened during the tournament, the weeks leading up to the tournament and even the whole year and the whole program to see what we can improve to ensure that the team is placed in the best conditions heading into an important two-game series in six weeks. »
Canada, ranked seventh in the world, takes on Jamaica in Olympic qualifying on September 24 in Kingston, Jamaica, and September 26 in Toronto. The 43rd-ranked “Reggae Girlz” had a better run than the Canadians at Worlds, reaching the round of 16.
Canada were unable to make it past the preliminary round, finishing third in Group B after a draw with Nigeria, a hard-fought victory against Ireland and an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Australia in a one-night tie .
De Vos, who was in Australia, supported the Canadian campaign from afar, without getting involved in the day-to-day business of the team.
“It was a challenge,” said deVos, himself a former Canadian team captain and member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. When you don’t achieve your goals, it’s frustrating.
“I can feel the disappointment in the players and the staff. I sympathize with them because I also experienced this kind of disappointment as a player and as a coach. It takes time to recover. »
The Canadian team is 22-10-9 under Priestman, who replaced Kenneth Heiner-Moller in November 2020. His contract with Canada Soccer has no expiry date.
DeVos noted that work continues on developing a collective bargaining agreement with the men’s and women’s teams. An agreement in principle was reached on certain elements, including compensation for the women’s team in 2023, but the two teams expressed in separate statements their dissatisfaction with the state of the negotiations.
“I think we’ve taken a first step with this tentative agreement with the women’s team. However, there is still work to be done, deVos acknowledged. All I can say is that we remain committed to providing players with everything they need to be successful on the pitch. »
Regarding the controversial partnership between Canada Soccer and Canadian Soccer Business, deVos said discussions are ongoing.
“It’s up to us to work together to come to an agreement,” deVos said. Nothing is cast in stone, but we are working on this file. »
Canadian Soccer Business is responsible for promoting Canada Soccer on and off the field through television broadcast and sponsorship agreements. Canada Soccer, which does not own CSB, would receive between three and four million per year, according to the current agreement.