A couple of things I wanted to add… when Herdman signed on to be Canada’s men’s manager in 2018, the CSA’s then-president said he was on board for the next two World Cup cycles. Current president Earl Cochrane confirmed that Herdman is under contract through the 2026 World Cup and I believe always has been. Now, I also believe it’s not that hard to get out of these contracts, but I don’t think it’s as clear as Herdman re-signing with Canada vs. signing with New Zealand.
Secondly, I do think there is some merit to the idea that Herdman was using the outside interest as a bargaining chip with the CSA, but I actually expect he did it demand more resources and more money to fund the youth teams (who have been incredibly under-served during the pandemic) and get some higher profile friendlies in the few windows we’ll have for them in the next three years. I don’t think this was necessarily about improving his own financial situation and was more about his own frustration with trying to be competitive at a home World Cup with a federation that is beyond cheap and pleading poverty at every turn.
I saw Scot Gemmill start for Scotland in a friendly at Easter Road against Canada. God I feel old.
I find it interesting the discussion about the manager having to be based in Auckland. U.S. Soccer is based in two historic homes beside each other in Chicago. It was always a requirement of the manager to live in Chicago. Jurgen Klinsmann has been the only exception that I know of, so far, because he wouldn’t take the job if he couldn’t live in Southern California. Frankly, it makes no sense to me, particularly since the team almost never plays in Chicago and they have winter. But I bring this up because the story (which may be apocryphal) is that the US needed a new U20 manager when Tab Ramos took an MLS job and no one wanted to move to Chicago in the middle of a pandemic. So despite a calamitous run with the Colorado Rapids, Anthony Hudson was willing to move to Chicago – which is how he got the U20 job. The U20 World Cup was cancelled, they hired a proper U20 manager for this current U20 cycle, but threw Hudson a bone in Gregg Berhalter’s backroom staff with the senior national team… and now he’s the interim manager as the US cleans house following the Berhalter-Reyna mess. May we all fail upwards as well as Anthony Hudson has.
Seems as Juneof86 said, Soccer Canada has it's own financial issues
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/world-cup/300804908/christine-sinclair-hits-out-as-canadas-women-take-job-action-over-cuts-ahead-of-world-cup
Man just reading that it seems really pathetic of Sinclair. If the organization has no money then surely they can't afford the program, thats just how it works.
I'm sure they'll be putting all the effort over the next few year into the men's team as they have a home world cup coming up that might actually make them some money.
Edit: on second reading is see that they haven't been paid for camps that they've already done, fair enough to be upset.
On another not does anyone else find to idea of getting paid to represent your nation a little weird? Maybe it's just me but I find the whole concept a bit strange.