Canada's players refused to play a friendly match against Panama that was scheduled for Sunday, due to a dispute with the local football association over financial compensation and other issues, and this comes before the team's historic participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The players have refused to train in recent days due to the dispute, saying in a letter that the federation "has not respected our team and has put an end to our efforts to raise standards and advance the game in Canada. It is time to take a stand for the future of football in Canada."

The letter sets out a number of issues, including a demand for more transparency, better leadership and a 40% share of the proceeds from qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar, while the federation proposes giving only 10% of the proceeds to players.

The players called for equalizing the rewards with the women's team, in terms of income related to matches and the percentage of profits in the World Cup finals, in addition to developing a local women's league.

A statement by Canada Soccer President, Nick Bontis on the cancellation of today's #CANMNT v Panama match.

pic.twitter.com/Udfqrwrv2S

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 6, 2022

In this letter, the players apologized to fans of Canada and Panama, "We hope that the Canadian Football Association will take decisive steps to work with our team so that we can return to the field for our match on June 9" in the CONCACAF Nations League against Curaçao.

The president of the federation said he was "very disappointed" with the players' decision, and noted that the federation "worked in good faith with the players to find a fair solution for all."

This is the second friendly match to be canceled from Canada's national team programme, after a match against Iran was canceled following a protest led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau considered holding the match a "bad idea" for the families of the passengers who died when Iranian forces shot down a Ukraine Airlines plane on January 8, 2020, with dozens of Canadians and residents on board.

The Canadian national team is preparing to participate in the World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year, 36 years after their first participation in the event.

Canada will play in Group F along with Belgium, Morocco and Croatia.