Canada men's soccer team forms players association as World Cup money talks continue

The Canadian men's soccer team has formed a players association as compensation negotiations continue with Canada Soccer.

The players and their governing body are attempting to strike a deal in advance of the November World Cup in Qatar.

The men are following the lead of the Canadian women's team, which is represented by the Canadian Soccer Players Association (CSPA).

The news came in a release Thursday from Canada Soccer, which said it had "agreed to voluntarily recognize" the Canadian Men's National Soccer Team Players Association (CMNSTPA).

Earl Cochrane, Canada's Soccer's general secretary, says the players association "creates a single point of contact now."

"It just streamlines things for us and make it easier. We can have regular dialogue. We know where to go for answers and they know where to come [for] questions," he said in an interview.

"There's reason to be optimistic, based on the fact that they've made this step," he added. "And I think now it's just continuing what we were doing prior, getting to a point where we find an agreement and get this over the line well in advance of Qatar."

WATCH | CBC Sports dissects Canada Soccer's organizational issues:

An attempt to reach the law firm representing the players wasn't immediately successful.

Canada Soccer is awaiting word on its latest offer, made to both the men and women in late June. At the time, it said it was looking "to equalize matters related to compensation for the player pool, travel policy, and the configuration of high-performance environments" between the two teams.

Cochrane said the two sides are going back and forth, asking and answering questions.

Qatar marks only Canada's second trip to the men's World Cup, following the 1986 tournament in