Canada’s women’s rugby team is one of the nation’s most dominant sports teams when they’re on the pitch. When it comes to the off-the-pitch battle of finances? Not so much.
Driving the news: The Canadian women’s rugby team played Ireland yesterday in its final tune-up match ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup in England later this month. The squad will head into the tourney as the world’s No. 2 nation with a decent shot to win it all.
- The unit’s been in fine form this year, notching zero losses, one tie, and five wins before Saturday, including a 42-10 shellacking of the U.S. in front of a record crowd.
Yes, but: The team has thrived despite budgetary constraints compared to other top teams. Rugby Canada, the national rugby body, brought in $20.1 million last year against expenses of $20.2 million. For comparison, third-ranked New Zealand had NZ$285 million in income.
- To make up for the shortfall, the team launched a crowdfunding campaign in March called “Mission: Win Rugby World Cup 2025,” with a $1 million target before the tournament in August.
- As of last week, the team was still 12% away from reaching the goal, prompting the Tragically Hip to release limited-edition merch with proceeds benefitting the team.
Why it matters: It’s not just rugby, all sorts of niche sports are feeling the crunch as Canada's 62 summer and winter national sport organizations haven’t gotten an increase in core federal funding since 2005. Funding issues could put repeats of recent elite showings at international competitions (be it in rugby or at last year's Olympics) in jeopardy.—QH