Canada Soccer strikes new partnership with rebranded marketing and sponsorship entity

Canada fans celebrate the team's victory in a CONCACAF Nations League Play-In soccer match against Trinidad And Tobago March 23, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Canada Soccer has struck a new marketing and sponsorship rights agreement with Canadian Soccer Business, replacing a deal that players claimed deprived the federation of much-needed revenue.

Canada Soccer on Friday announced the 12-year agreement with CSB, which has rebranded as Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment. It comes at a crucial time as the nation prepares to host this summer’s World Cup with Mexico and the United States.

The partnership includes Canada Soccer’s licensing activity, included with sponsorship and media rights, to coordinate the federation’s commercial growth. It is expected to boost Canada Soccer’s finances going forward.

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Revenues generated will be primarily invested into the senior and youth national teams, coaching and referee development, and community initiatives.

The original agreement with Canadian Soccer Business was decried by the men’s and women’s national teams in their efforts to strike a labor agreement with Canada Soccer.

The CSB paid Canada Soccer a fee, which the players said was too low. The arrangement was at the heart of a $40 million lawsuit brought by the women’s team in 2024.

In 2024, the players reached a framework for a new labor agreement that was contingent on reworking the 10-year agreement with CSB.

“We’re working in close collaboration with the players,” Canada Soccer general secretary Kevin Blue told reporters during a press conference Friday. “We have developed a very strong and trustful relationship with the players in the last couple of years. Getting past and resolving this particular issue is a big step in finalizing the formal ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and we are expecting that to happen relatively soon.”

The deal calls for revenue sharing between the two parties, with Canada Soccer’s share growing as revenue increases. It is backstopped by annual minimums.

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It also includes a commitment to wider broadcasts of senior national games, both in Canada and internationally, with equal consideration given to men’s and women’s matches.

The partnership will be re-evaluated every three years to ensure fair market value alignment.

“We believe today, after this announcement, that the floodgates will open. We believe a lot of new partnerships will come in. I think you’re going to see that in the coming weeks as we move towards the 2026 World Cup,” said James Johnson of CSME.

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Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press