Dear Canada Soccer Community:
Good year! We are writing to you today in the spirit of continued transparency and public accountability with an update on Canada Soccer’s commercial rights. We have recently received an increasing volume of questions from the media and football stakeholders on this topic.
How agreements with third-party rights holders work
Canada Soccer’s commercial rights have been represented since 2019 by Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) in what is known in the sports world as a “third party rights holder” relationship.
In these situations, a sports organization (i.e. a team, federation or league) hires a third-party company (the “rights holder”) to sell commercial assets such as its sponsorships and broadcast contracts. The parties share the associated revenue and there is often a minimum revenue guarantee provided by the rights holder to the sports organization. The rights holder makes a profit by keeping part of the revenue they generate. When these arrangements are structured correctly, both parties can benefit.
Agreements with third party rights holders are not common in world football or Canadian sport. They are more common in American college sports. The most recent similar agreement in world soccer was between the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and Soccer United Marketing (SUM), which lasted between 2004 and 2022.
Canada Soccer’s relationship with Canadian Soccer Business
Canadian Soccer Business was created in 2018 by Canadian Premier League (CPL) club owners and is inspired by the USSF/SUM relationship. The consolidation of sales of sponsorship and broadcast rights of the Canadian national teams with those of the CPL was supposed to have positive effects for both entities.
Over the past few years, there have been numerous comments from stakeholders regarding the Canada Soccer/CSB agreement, including questions about its fairness and viability. Previous discussions focused on the valuation of commercial assets, the duration of the agreement and the broadcasting scope of national team matches.
Towards a new agreement
Canada Soccer and CSB have engaged in good faith negotiations over the past year to reach a new agreement that better reflects a fair and appropriate sharing of the value of Canada Soccer’s commercial rights. A new agreement will also ensure that incentives are aligned so that the parties can work together more effectively. These discussions were long and sometimes complex, but overall constructive.
We are unable to mention specific points of the agreement at this time. Typically, topics covered include how the partnership is governed, how revenue is shared between the parties, the extent of rights and assets that make up the partnership, and ways to increase broadcast distribution and visibility of national teams.
We are also aware that any final solution must be consistent with Canada Soccer’s obligations as a publicly accountable National Sport Organization (NSO). We recognize that a commercial relationship with a for-profit entity like CSB – whose activities intersect with related businesses including the Canadian Premier League and OneSoccer – requires careful and transparent structuring to meet these obligations. This is particularly important given Canada Soccer’s role as the governing body serving all stakeholders in soccer in Canada, including provincial and territorial associations, professional leagues and clubs, national team players, coaches, referees and grassroots participants. Canada Soccer will publish details of any new agreements reached to support transparency and public understanding.
Urgent and solution-focused
Canada Soccer is acting to resolve this matter imminently and definitively. We are focused on solutions to ensure all parties move forward together quickly and positively as we enter the most important year in Canadian football history. Canada Soccer will communicate updates on this matter as they become available and hopes that the issue will be resolved soon, for the benefit of all stakeholders.
