Bev Priestman considers future as Canada coach amid pay turmoil

Olympic gold medal-winning Canada head coach, Bev Priestman, is understood to be considering her future with the national team as the impasse between the players and federation over pay equity issues and budget cuts rumbles on.

Priestman, who led the Canada women’s national team to a first major tournament victory at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, is considering her options for beyond the World Cup, which kicks off in July. It is believed that the 36-year-old, who was assistant to Phil Neville when he was head coach of England’s Lionesses, is considering a move into club football and that a number of clubs have expressed an interest in her.

The situation between the players and Canada Soccer has deteriorated in recent weeks, with the Canadian Soccer Players’ Association (CSPA) releasing a statement on Friday which said that they are “outraged and deeply concerned” by reported funding cuts. Team captain and the most capped player in the world, Christine Sinclair, tweeted “enough is enough” and said she could not represent the federation on the pitch until the situation is resolved. The decision of the players to step back prompted Canada Soccer to threaten legal action against the players.

Players claimed that Canada Soccer threatened to “not only take legal action to force us back to the pitch but would consider taking steps to collect what could be millions of dollars in damages from our players association and from each of the individual players currently in camp” if they did not commit to playing in the SheBelieves Cup hosted by the US this month.

England captain, Leah Williamson, expressed solidarity with the Canadian players before the Arnold Clark Cup on Wednesday. “One of the main issues for women’s football, for