Canada's Olympic champion women's team making sure its voice is heard in battle with Canada Soccer

This past Sunday, more than 20,000 fans were preparing to gather at B.C. Place in Vancouver to watch the Canadian men's soccer team (CANMNT) play Panama in an international friendly.

But the players did not take to the pitch and the match was cancelled a few hours before the whistle. Why? Because of a contract dispute. The players, as first reported by TSN's Rick Westhead, released a letter explaining their position.

They had questions and concerns with respect to their own pay and the payout by FIFA for qualifying for the World Cup — approximately $10 million. According to the letter, the players are asking for 40 per cent of the monies as well as compensation for their families to attend the tournament in Qatar later this year.

Since July last year, the Canadian women's and men's national teams have bolted to the top of an Olympic podium and finished first in World Cup qualifying, respectively. The men's side has qualified for this year's men's World Cup — something not accomplished since 1986. The momentum is booming and the cheers from the fans are loud.

Thanks to the continued success of the women's side, Canada has always been a soccer nation and the men's performance has only reaffirmed this. But while excitement among players and fans is palpable, there have been a series of missteps at the hands of Canada Soccer executives.

Last week, a planned match between CANMNT and Iran was cancelled after public outcry, including a rebuke from the Prime Minister. Although the opportunity to play against a higher-ranked FIFA team made sense from a pure competition perspective, the social implications of playing Iran are unfavourable. Two years ago, a passenger plane was shot down by Iranian forces killing all 176 people on