Can Canada Rise Up In The World Of Men’s Football?

If you were ever wondering what the general perception was in regards to men’s football in Canada, then all you need to do is look towards the joy that came with the North America 2026 World Cup bid being announced as the winner. Why? Because Canadians realised that this would probably be one of their primary opportunities to actually compete at a FIFA World Cup – in terms of their men’s team.

Their women’s team, of course, is one of the very best, which serves as a pretty interesting contrast. So interesting, in fact, that we want to highlight this piece of text which comes directly from Canada Soccer themselves.

A new beginning

“The United Bid of Canada, Mexico and the United States is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to impact the game in North America through hosting the FIFA World Cup™..

Canada Soccer will use the opportunity to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ to innovate and align football in our country over an eight-year roadmap, to advance the development of the sport across the nation, and to invest in the game in communities from coast to coast to coast.

Soccer has long been one of Canada’s favourite sports as well as the number one participation sport across the country. As a growing soccer nation, the sport has enjoyed unprecedented public and corporate support alongside dedicated leaders working together to advance the game. Hosting competitions like the record-setting FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Canada 2002, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ have had major impacts in growing the interest in the sport across the country.”

Making moves

As reported by BBC the Canada Women’s team seems to be doing pretty well at the current FIFA Women’s World Cup, and while we’re obviously happy to see that, this isn’t the point we want to make here. The point is that we’re really, really fascinated to see how the men’s game progresses between now and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

There are a few potential superstars in the works that could be ready to step up for Canada by the time it rolls around, but beyond that, we all know just how much scrutiny there is on any given host nation. We can all but guarantee Mexico and the United States will put up a decent fight for themselves, but Canada doesn’t really have the same pedigree in that regard. Sure, the momentum of the occasion may be enough to get them to a manageable point, but you just never know.

They won’t want to embarrass themselves and with the introduction of their own Premier League, we’re hoping that the stars are beginning to align for them. There seems to be a gradual increase in the volume of people that are interested in soccer, and that should continue to progress as the years go on.

There’s still plenty of time for them to build up their developmental system, and we really hope that it happens. To begin with, we need to see how the women fare over in France.