Captain of the Canadian women’s team, Christine Sinclairhave confirmed the national team will go on strike this week over a lack of funding which they say will jeopardize their ability to perform at this year’s Women’s World Cup.

Less than a week before the Olympic champions face the United States, Brazil and Japan in the SheBelieves Cup, sinclair and janine beckie appeared on the Canadian Sports Channel TSN to say that they will not participate in any team activities, including games, until the dispute is resolved.

The interview took place after the Canadian women’s and men’s teams released separate statements complaining about cuts to the women’s team by the Canadian Soccer Associationand demanded answers from the federation.

Some of us trained today with our shirts inside out, but since we haven’t heard from the federation since we filed our lawsuits, they haven’t even had the courtesy of contact us to set up an emergency call, as a team we’ve decided to take social action. From this point on, we will not participate in any Canadian Soccer Association activities until this is resolved, whether in training or in games. It’s very hard to say as an athlete who wants to compete, who wants to represent Canada, but that’s enough.

Meanwhile, Beckie, a former Manchester City striker, insisted the players will not move until everything is resolved.

From this moment we will no longer train, we will not attend concentrations. We will not be participating in any planned activities with the team in the near future. If we get to next Thursday afternoon and it’s not resolved, we won’t be taking to the field against the United States in the SheBelieves Cup. The men’s and women’s teams are acting together against a federation that has mistreated us for too long, we have been too friendly for too long.

The interview took place shortly after the team members released a statement via the Canadian Soccer Association in which they said that preparations for the next World Cup “are jeopardized by the federation’s continued inability to support its national teams”.

According to the statement, the Canadian Soccer Association has reduced the time spent at gatherings, as well as the number of players and staff invited. They were also told there would be no home friendlies before the World Cup, which starts in Australia and New Zealand in July.

We are tired, tired of constantly having to fight for fair and equitable treatment and for a program that gives us the opportunity to achieve what we know this team is capable of achieving for Canada. This lack of support threatens to reverse the progress we have made as a footballing nation and send us back into oblivion. For our team to continue to be strong globally, we need a federation that supports us at the level expected of us – globally.

Furthermore, they point out that “significant amounts of money and resources have been invested in our men’s team to ensure there are no gaps in their preparation for the Men’s World Cup 2022”, while that the women’s team is asked to act without the same back.

For its part, the Canadian Soccer Association explained that “Pay equity is at the center of negotiations ongoing with players and added.

After months of negotiations with our women’s national team players and their legal advisors, the federation has now issued a mutually agreed salary arrears. We have also informed our women’s team that the “Friends and Family” programme, awarded to our men’s team in Qatar, will be replicated for our women during the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. This is a real change, but there is still a lot to do. To continue this important work, we need a collective agreement that allows us to plan responsibly for the future.

(With information from European press)