Canada’s women’s soccer team took their national association to the field on Thursday, wearing purple jerseys emblazoned with the message Enough is Enough in the opening game of the SheBelieves Cup against the United States.
The team’s protest was the most recent episode in the fight for equal pay with the Canada Soccer. “Tonight, our players will wear purple as a symbol of protest,” the Canadian Players Association said in a statement.
“Considering the current circumstances, our players will continue to wear purple until our association has a standard that guarantees equal treatment and opportunity.”
The Canadians wore the purple t-shirts during warm-ups at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, before changing to their traditional red kit, but wearing a purple wristband. Purple has historically been associated with the struggle to achieve gender equality. Canada lost the game 2-0.
The Olympic champions had boycotted training last Saturday while demanding immediate changes but later backed down when Canada Soccer called their strike illegal and threatened legal action. The team said it would play under protest at SheBelieves Cup.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the players said the “disgusting” discrepancy between Canada’s men’s and women’s soccer became obvious last year in Qatar, where Canada’s men made their first appearance at the World Cup. in 37 years, in November. Canada Soccer spent $11 million on the men’s program in 2021, and $5.1 million on the women’s program.
The association said it had a “proven track record” of supporting the women’s game and that pay equity was “at the heart” of ongoing negotiations between players.
US striker Mallory Swanson scored both goals against Canada on Thursday. Canadian captain Christine Sinclair said her team were “mentally exhausted” and any team playing the world champions had to be “at their best”. “And we weren’t there that night.”
The Canadians will face Brazil on Sunday before facing Japan three days later. Brazil defeated Japan 1-0 in the opening game of the tournament, with Debinha scoring the only goal.