JOHNSON – Christine Sinclair retires as more than just a soccer player

THIS WEEK, Christine Sinclair announced her decision to leave the Canadian football (ya … I know) woman’s team.

Her timing is to allow room on the roster for others to fill the space and allow enough time for the squad to prepare for the Paris Olympics’ in 2024 without her. She still has a few games this season to finish with the team, and she will continue playing in the professional league with the Portland Thorns.

And that’s always how Christine Sinclair has rolled … when asked about her career accomplishments she always answers by deferring to just being part of a team operating at their best, and how she has always seen her job as the role model for younger players.

Personal accomplishment numbers don’t mean much to her.

In a world of athletes at the top of their sport who ride the wave of their public success, its refreshing when you get one that stays humble.

As she approaches 40 years of age, she has mentioned that its more difficult to heal from injury as well as even maintain the physical conditioning necessary to play this sport at the highest level.

Beyond her on-pitch heroics, she will be remembered for the important role in the issue of women’s pay equity in sports.

The issue specifically in Canada was on the hot burner for years as the Canadian Soccer Association (known today as Soccer Canada) steadfastly refused to pay its female players at the same rate as its men players, or even at a comparable % of revenue earned.

It was not uncommon that some players on the women’s squad came home from winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo or after CONCACAF or the Pan American tournaments that they have actually won … and have to go back to the day jobs they needed to support themselves and their families.

They would even have to fight for payment for physio and sports medical needs.

One of the real problems besides a living wage, is the women’s team members have not even received the appropriate prize money allocations that they earned.

As a matter of fact, it’s well known since its disclosure due to Canada Soccer’s controversial broadcast agreement with Canada Soccer Business (CSB). Under the terms of that deal, CSB pays Canada Soccer a set amount each year and keeps the rest, which helps fund the Canadian Premier League.

If you missed that, the moneys earned by the broadcast of women’s soccer pays for men’s soccer. There is very good reason this has been in the news for years.

To crunch a few other numbers:

The Canadian men’s team earned $9 million US from FIFA as one of the teams exiting after the group stage in Qatar. FIFA says, under its new compensation package at the women’s tournament, member associations will receive from $1.56 million for a team exiting after the group stage to $4.29 million for the champion.

Under all the associated deals, the members of the men’s team would get a cut of that $9 million, but the women players wouldn’t get a cut of up to $4 million.

Recently an interim agreement was reached, a deal that the players argue is slightly better but still not equal by any means.

This really is the issue that Christine Sinclair took on during the last few years as captain and lead goal scorer and public face of Canadian women’s soccer.

Although she leaves without it being solved by any means, she can be proud to have kicked the issue into the public forum. It is likely that after her departure, it is just a matter of time until the women players are paid equitably to the men players.

She should be proud of her accomplishment there, but no matter how she tried she would never have been able to push women’s soccer anywhere near, to where the men’s game is internationally.

Here’s a simple fact, phrased in an unexpected way:

Do this: Google search “Football player with the most lifetime international goals.” What pops up – Christian Ronaldo – 127 goals with the Portugal National Team.

Cool … now Google this – “Christine Sinclair international goals.” What do you get – Sinclair has scored 190 goals in international play with Canada.

Note the 72-goal difference. Obviously, Sinclair is, without a doubt, and by a very long shot, THE soccer player in international play that has scored the most goals.

Now Google again – “Football player with the most lifetime international goals.” This is the algorithm at Google doing what it does.

It parses search parameter results by user requests. What that means is users by way of their own search terms differentiate the importance of men and women players in the football world. Google notoriously gives what it’s asked for … the most.

This is classic gender bias. Sinclair could be the very first one to tell you that the worldwide history of female subjugation is alive and well … but she doesn’t. When asked of such things, she speaks to the importance of pay equity and switches to the importance of attracting more young girls into the sport.

This is the role that matters to her: Getting more girls and women on the pitch, because more than anyone she understands that the only way to change the world is by slowly increasing players playing the game to the point when it is normal to sign lucrative broadcast contracts for woman games … equal to the men.

That’s how I will remember her; as someone what literally put Canadian women’s soccer on the map by her playing, brought gender equality in sport to the forefront, got a raise for all future Canadian team players … and scored some damn fine goals.

The men … they just score damn fine goals.

I think I know what I respect more.

David Johnson is a Kamloops resident, community volunteer and self described maven of all things Canadian.