Bev Priestman can finally focus on soccer with off-field distractions diminished

Coach Bev Priestman says she has "unfinished business" with the Olympic champion Canadian women's soccer team.

And with a newly signed contract to stay on through the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, there is clarity about that mission.

The 37-year-old Priestman, who took over the Canadian women on Nov. 1, 2020, was initially appointed "through the next quadrennial" and had been working on a rolling contract that had no term end-date. Now she has a new, defined deal.

"On paper I was always going to be here until 2027. But I think this sends a message to the players, the organization," she said in an interview.

Priestman sees brighter days ahead for Canada Soccer, which still has to fill the posts of general secretary and men's coach and finally resolve the ongoing labour dispute with its players.

But she acknowledges it has been a bumpy road at times getting there.

"If I had spoken to you this time last year, it would have been a totally different conversation," she said.

In recent months, however, she says distractions off the pitch have diminished.

"You look at the back-end of the year, there's no surprise that things improved on the pitch. Because that's what I could spend my time focused on. We ended the year with the way I would like to see Canada Soccer continue to move forward, which is investment in the women's team, great planning off the pitch where I'm not looking (at the) budget left right and centre."

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She said at the end of the year her feeling was "this is what the job did feel like when I first took over and this is what it needs to feel like moving forward.

"That was a critical piece because I could just focus on what I feel