GE Appliances Canada has made good on a previous pledge to increase its sponsorship funding for Canada Soccer in support for the women’s national team ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

The funding will be directed to support the women’s national team across three key pillars: sports science and medical innovation, technical innovation and cultural innovation. This will include support and wellness programming for players while they are travelling for the duration of the World Cup in July and August, as well as the team’s preparation camp. In addition, a portion of the funding will support player appearances as part of a new mentorship program GE Appliances is developing.

In February, a public dispute between Canada Soccer and the players on the women’s national team began over a new collective agreement. The team released a statement saying that budget cuts were leaving the team unprepared for the upcoming 2023 World Cup. Among the other issues the team has outlined since then are pay equity with the men’s national team and not receiving a similar level of support – players told a House of Commons heritage committee that they have been hosting training camps without full medical or training teams. The dispute led then-president of Soccer Canada Nick Bontis to resign.

A major point of contention in the dispute was sponsorship dollars. In an initial statement of support, the men’s team claimed the deal over broadcast rights and sponsorship funding with Canadian Soccer Business was an example of “mismanagement” that led to budget cuts impacting both teams.

In response, Bob Park (chief brand officer of Canada Soccer sponsor GE Appliances Canada) penned an open letter to Canada Soccer, pledging an incremental $100,000 increase of its current funding in order to help support the women’s team. Since then, the brand has been consulting with the team’s support team to determine the best allocation for the funding.

“We’ve made our position incredibly clear,” Park said. “The time for us all to show up, for our sport and its players, is now. We’re incredibly thankful to Canada Soccer for the collaborative response to this offer. We’re proud to be able to stand behind our Women’s National Team where – and when – they need it most.”

“As we prepare to represent Canada on the world’s stage, supporting our players with the best possible environments and resources will be critical to our performance,” added Bev Priestman, head coach of the women’s national team.