Bontis says he’s apologized to Sinclair, doesn’t remember insult

Former Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Thursday that while he doesn’t remember insulting Christine Sinclair during a meeting last year, he has reached out to the women’s national team captain and apologized.

Sinclair testified before the committee on Mar. 9 and said that she had never been as insulted as when Bontis asked a colleague what Sinclair was “bitching about” during a labour negotiating session.

“While I do not recall using the language she referenced, I don’t dispute it, and my exact choice of words is not the point,” Bontis told the committee. “What matters is that she felt that I treated her concerns disrespectfully. I feel terrible for making her feel this way… It was a mistake, I take responsibility for it, and I regret it.”

Bontis made his comments during a 90-minute hearing in which committee members discussed the business of soccer with Bontis, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, who was president of Canada Soccer from 2012-17, and Canada Soccer CFO Sean Heffernan.

Bontis testified that he left his position as Canada Soccer president on Feb. 27 after the 13 presidents of Canada’s provincial and territorial soccer federations requested his resignation. He said he still doesn’t know why they sought his ouster.

“I asked for reasons,” Bontis said. “I wanted an explicit opportunity to actually have both them explain it to me, and for me to explain where we were at in addition to my presidency. I was not afforded that opportunity. At that point I tendered my resignation.”

The hearing saw several sharp exchanges.

At one point both Montagliani and Bontis refused to answer Liberal MP Anthony Housefather’s questions about how much money they are paid by Concacaf, the soccer confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“The issue is that the organization that I am the president of has a policy with respect to not disclosing that number,” Montagliani said, pointing to “security and safety issues throughout our confederation.”

“I’m uncomfortable in sharing that number for privacy reasons,” Bontis said.

All three witnesses were questioned about Canada Soccer’s media and sponsorship contract with Canadian Soccer Business.

Under the terms of a contract negotiated in 2017-18, CSB pays Canada Soccer a guaranteed fee annually between 2019 and 2027 in exchange for the rights to sell both broadcasting and corporate sponsorship rights to the men’s and women’s national teams.

In 2019, that fee was $3 million, according to a copy of the contract obtained by TSN.

Canada Soccer board member Paul-Claude Berube confirmed during a March 22 committee hearing that in 2022, CSB generated $8.2 million in sponsorships. Canada Soccer has 14 national corporate partners listed on its website, and CSB receives all of the revenue from those agreements.

CSB’s guaranteed payment to Canada Soccer climbs each year, topping out at $3.5 million in 2027. The contract, which was signed by Steve Reed (Canada Soccer’s president from 2017-20), says CSB has the right to extend the deal for an additional 10 years, and if it triggers that extension, must pay Canada Soccer at least $4 million per year from 2028 to 2037.

Montagliani defended the contract.

“The lack of interest and support from media corporations meant that Canada Soccer had to spend its own money for our women’s and men’s national teams to be shown on networks such as TSN, Rogers and CBC rather than allocating that to the grassroots,” he said.

“…Of course, Canadian corporations are private entities and can make choices as they wish. But it was obvious when I was president of Canada Soccer that we needed to take a different route and seek out new commercial partners – not only to encourage investment, but to encourage ambition. That meant looking beyond the usual suspects to find new, more dynamic partners with the appetite and willingness to build domestic football for the long term.”

NDP MP Peter Julien pressed Bontis on Canada Soccer’s decision before the men’s World Cup in Qatar to spend $11,000 on bespoke suits for the organization’s board members.

“I can confirm that a couple years back, when I was elected president, that I had been wearing a suit that was issued to me for 10 full years,” Bontis said. “The suit was in very bad shape. We travel a lot as directors. I think I wore it on average 30 times a year over 10 years – that’s 300 times. It was shredded, it was in disrepair.

“…The suits were for all 14 directors of the board and they amounted to $791.00 dollars each. The suits were custom suits with Canada Soccer branding.”