Canada Soccer President Forced To Resign By Presidents Forum 

Summary

• Nick Bontis has stepped down from his post as President of Canada Soccer
• Bontis was forced to resign after the Presidents Forum agreed to remove him
• Canada Soccer has been under pressure for letting their players down

Canada Soccer has been in the news for the last 6 months for all the wrong reasons. Soccer Players from both the men and women’s teams have criticized the organization for not looking after them both financially and non-financially. 

The women’s team recently protested at the SheBelieves Cup where they were forced to participate under legal pressure from Canada Soccer. The women wore purple shirts during their warm-up sessions and purple bands when they played to tell the world they were playing under protest.

They called for Nick Bontis, President of Canada Soccer to step down as they felt his leadership was lacking as Canada Soccer has been at odds with the players for a long time.

Nick Bontis Resigns After Pressure To Step Down

Nick Bontis finally stepped down on Feb 27 after the Presidents Forum sent him a strong letter and demanded his resignation. The Presidents Forum is made up of members from 13 provinces across Canada and consists of both territorial and provincial soccer federations. 

The letter did not mince words and made it clear that the Presidents Forum had lost faith in Bontis leadership and wanted him to resign immediately. 

In the letter, Kevin Topolniski, chairman for the Presidents’ Forum wrote

With the unanimous support of all members of the Presidents’ Forum, I am requesting your resignation as president of Canada Soccer effective immediately. The Presidents’ Forum, representing the member associations of Canada Soccer, is requesting your resignation due to non-confidence in your leadership of Canada Soccer.

The letter said that if Bontis decided to stay on, then they would push for Earl Cochrane, general secretary of Canada Soccer to call for a general meeting and a move to pass an ordinary resolution to remove Bontis from the role of president would be floated and approved. 

Bontis decided to resign immediately and said that he understood that this was a time for change and it was best for him to move on.

Presidents Forum Might Also Push For GS To Be Removed

An anonymous source with ties to the Presidents Forum stated that they would also seek for Earl Cochrane to be removed as he worked closely with Bontis.