{"id":78094,"date":"2026-06-07T10:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/78094\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T10:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:18:21","slug":"multicultural-pride-surges-in-canada-as-the-world-cup-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/78094\/","title":{"rendered":"Multicultural pride surges in Canada as the World Cup approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was the kind of pitch-perfect evening amateur soccer players and their parents dream of all winter. Months of withering brutal weather gave way to soccer abandon on the turf, as two of Ottawa\u2019s best junior teams clashed in the sunlight.<\/p>\n

Watching on the sidelines was Nathaniel Salhani, a soccer-obsessed 8-year-old who could not wait to get the words out when asked if he was excited about Canada hosting the World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to the Canada, Ireland soccer game!\u201d he beamed.<\/p>\n

His mother was beaming too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe deserve this, to finally be recognized as a soccer nation,\u201d said Nathaniel\u2019s mother, Nathalie Salhani, adding, \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s that Canada finally gets recognized as a country that can play soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n

And play, they do. Salhani\u2019s sentiment speaks to the millions of players, coaches and parents devoted to amateur soccer in Canada.<\/p>\n

\"Niko<\/p>\n

Niko Sigur #23 of Canada and Mason Melia #9 of the Republic of Ireland run after the ball in the second half during the international friendly match at Saputo Stadium on June 5, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. – Minas Panagiotakis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Canadian government declares soccer,<\/a> not hockey, to be the nation\u2019s most popular sport among Canadian children.<\/p>\n

Canada may lack the near-religious devotion Mexico shows to the sport, or the high expectations of the US, but the sublime joy of just being able to host a World Cup is setting in.<\/p>\n

World Cup headlines in Canada bear the same gripes and cynicism about high ticket prices<\/a>, lack of a tourism boost, stadium and transport<\/a> issues, but for so many players and fans in Canada, this World Cup is hitting different.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for us to even have a chance to do this is great because we haven\u2019t had it and now we\u2019re going to take the opportunity,\u201d said Salhani.<\/p>\n

Vancouver and Toronto are sharing hosting duties and both cities are decked out for fan festivities.<\/p>\n

Vancouver has transformed its skyline and its streets. The city\u2019s Science World has unveiled \u2018The Beautiful Dome,\u2019 a massive soccer ball perched on the waterfront. It\u2019s a 360-degree, 40-metre-diameter recreation of the Adidas Trionda, the official match ball of the FIFA World Cup 2026.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Yaletown district has been blanketed with \u2018Beautiful Game\u2019 murals along walls and patios, showing the game\u2019s most iconic moments from soccer stars legends like Lionel Messi, Pel\u00e9, and Canada\u2019s Alphonso Davies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mural celebrates more than 70 years of soccer history through iconic players at moments in the game but also reflecting Vancouver\u2019s own World Cup identity,\u201d Sarah Vallely, executive director of the Yaletown Business Improvement Association that commissioned the artwork, told CNN in a phone interview this week.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

An aerial view of the retractable roof the BC Place Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on March 21, 2026 in Vancouver, Canada. The venue is one of two Canadian stadiums that will host multiple matches during the FIFA World Cup 2026 in July 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia. – Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The city is prepping for what it calls a once-in-generation opportunity for residents, visitors and local businesses from dozens of cultural backgrounds. Vallely sees it as bigger than the Super Bowl or the Olympic Games<\/a> given the extraordinary viewership and engagement from fans around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what you\u2019re really seeing is a celebration of the world\u2019s game and that was very important to us,\u201d said Vallely.<\/p>\n

Beyond the economic boost, hopes, if not expectations, are high for Canada\u2019s national team too, even though this is only Canada\u2019s third World Cup appearance.<\/p>\n

Even making the quarterfinals would be a dream scenario for Canada\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have very talented players and I think this is a team that definitely should come out of their group, I think this is a team that at minimum should participate in the round of 32,\u201d said Julian de Guzman, a Canada Soccer Hall of Fame and former national team member who is currently Head of Sport for New York\u2019s Red Bull MLS team.<\/p>\n

De Guzman said a solid performance by the national team will build momentum for future teams and send a message to the world about Canada\u2019s soccer potential.<\/p>\n

\"Young<\/p>\n

Young spectators take in the atmosphere ahead of the international friendly match between Canada and the Republic of Ireland at Saputo Stadium on June 5, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. – Minas Panagiotakis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\"Alphonso<\/p>\n

Alphonso Davies #19 of Canada looks on ahead of the international friendly match against the Republic of Ireland at Saputo Stadium on June 5, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. – Minas Panagiotakis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be eye-opening to know that, \u2018wow\u2019, soccer does exist north of the border, said de Guzman, adding, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of cool things to appreciate about where Alphonso Davies comes from, where Jonathan David comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davies is Canada\u2019s national team captain and a star player for Bayern Munich<\/a>, David is a standout striker for Canada who currently plays for Juventus in Italy. Both are the children of Canadian immigrants and emblematic of how and why soccer is so popular in Canada.<\/p>\n

Canada is home to soccer fans whose roots span every continent and team. Toronto and Vancouver will be performing a \u201cdouble pivot,\u201d cheering for Canada even as many fans will have a \u201cside-hustle,\u201d rooting for the teams of their heritage.<\/p>\n

Restaurants and bars are gearing up for Canada\u2019s games but also hosting viewing parties for nearly every one of the 48 teams competing.<\/p>\n

It is a fact not lost on Canadian musical superstar Drake, a committed soccer fan who in a recent interview with FIFA declared that Canada will be ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada as a whole, we have just such an incredible melting pot of people, but Toronto especially, there are so many cultural experiences so when the World Cup hits, \u2026 it\u2019s a beautiful, beautiful, time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was the kind of pitch-perfect evening amateur soccer players and their parents dream of all winter. Months…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16174,16099,17,5046,11434,31080,31081,3544,388,6598,30582,28209,3543],"class_list":["post-78094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alphonso-davies","tag-bayern-munich","tag-canada","tag-italy","tag-jonathan-david","tag-julian-de-guzman","tag-juventus","tag-lionel-messi","tag-mexico","tag-niko-sigur","tag-saputo-stadium","tag-soccer-players","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}