Thank you, Madam Chair.
Hello, Madam Chair and members of the committee. As pointed out, I'm Steven Reed.
For much of my adult life I've dedicated my time to volunteering in the sport of soccer. I've coached youth teams in Victoria and Surrey, served as vice-president and president of the British Columbia Soccer Association and served on Canada Soccer's board of directors for 15 years.
Most recently, as the committee knows, I was vice-president of Canada Soccer from 2012 to 2017, and president of Canada Soccer from 2017 to 2020. Prior to that, it was my great privilege to serve on the national organizing committee for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, a competition that was one of the high points for me and for soccer in Canada.
As this committee also knows, Canada Soccer is the governing body for the sport of soccer in our country, made up of provincial and territorial associations and professional league members. Canada Soccer is also charged with coaching development, referee development and national team programs at all age levels.
During my time on the Canada Soccer board, I focused on collaborating with partners and staff to grow soccer in Canada from the grassroots level up and strove to ensure that soccer is the safest sport in our country. Building on that outline, the remarks I make today will focus on two areas specifically: one, my role in the negotiations of the Canada Soccer-Canadian Soccer Business, or CSB, agreement; and two, the safe sports guardrails that were initiated during my time on the Canada Soccer board.
Before proceeding further, I also want to underline that I left Canada Soccer in 2020 when my term expired, and I have played no role in the association since that time. As such, my ability to comment on more recent events is limited.
Regarding the CSB agreement, which was unanimously agreed to by the Canada Soccer board on March 23, 2018, as this committee has heard, the CSB agreement provides valuable broadcast and streaming opportunities for both senior national teams. It guarantees annual payments to Canada Soccer and has secured new partners for investment in grassroots and high-performance soccer in Canada. Prior to the CSB agreement, Canada Soccer was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to broadcast women’s and men’s national team matches. No Canadian broadcaster was willing to pay to broadcast the games. The agreement resolved that issue and has helped grow the women’s and men’s games in Canada. That reality was one of the major motivating factors of the Canada Soccer board for entering into the agreement. In short, there are benefits to the agreement for all parties.
The CSB agreement is a dynamic document. I know current Canada Soccer and CSB senior leadership are exploring ways to update it, but at the outset, the agreement was a strong and appropriate way to create revenue certainty for Canada Soccer and control costs. It’s also important to note the CSB agreement is not the only source of revenue for Canada Soccer. For example, Canada Soccer receives significant gate revenue from the matches the association hosts.
On the matter of safe and respectful conduct in sport, my firm personal belief is that everyone who engages in sport must be afforded the right and opportunity to play, train and compete in a healthy and supportive environment that is respectful, equitable and free from all forms of harassment and abuse.
During the time I served as president of Canada Soccer, our board and staff took many actions to ensure the association was meeting that imperative, including by leading or assisting with developing and launching a club licensing program; building a relationship with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection; signing a long-term partnership with Respect Group; hiring a manager of coach education and a master coach developer; and publishing a new coach education pathway. We also developed and rolled out a national children's licence and approved and launched the Canada Soccer safe sport roster, which combines mandatory certification for all coaches, a sophisticated club licensing program, a national soccer registry, a whistle-blower policy and hotline, a code of conduct and ethics, and concussion protocols to create the best possible conditions for players, coaches, referees and administrators.
Those and other initiatives are indicative of my personal commitment to safe sport and of Canada Soccer’s commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone playing and participating in soccer in Canada.
Thank you for your attention. I look forward to answering your questions.