2026 FIFA World Cup

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Come again? He was spot on.

Sorry, I'm exercised because I'm watching Spain-Italy in Wembley right now. A knife-edge exciting match in the world's most prominent stadium for football (well, at least the name). Sigh...

It's coming home. I can hope.

Canada is not a football nation Which sport has the greatest participation? It ain't yer hockee, yer 'ball', yer cfl/nfl 3 hours to play 60 minutes of which about 30 minutes is actual action 'ball. Which sport is played by a high % of females. It may not be that big amongst the cradle Canadians and the Don Cherry/F-150/Tims double double crowd but it is the most played sport in Canada. For all of the interest in CFL/NFL how many people actually play the game. Very few.

Fingers crossed for an england victory tomorrow and then again on Sunday.

[thenoflyzone]

^ I understand your point of view, and you’re not wrong, but just because youth participation ratios are higher in soccer than other sports, it doesn’t make Canada a football nation.

My definition of a football nation: a country where all your major metro areas have soccer specific stadiums of 35,000+ seating capacity. And not because you can (Qatar), but rather because you have to, in order to support a sport that your country loves.

The Quebec government just told Montreal, “yeah, no thanks. Don’t expect any money from us”. That doesn’t sound like a football nation to me.

Btw, the US isn’t a football nation either. They just happen to have a bunch of large American football stadiums that are well suited for soccer matches.

Mexico IS a football nation.

As some others have said, this 2026 WC is becoming less about Canada, and more about the US/Mexico. We’re an afterthought.

[kel]

I don’t feel Edmonton is all that bad. By 2026 it’s metro will probably be only 900k less than Greater Vancouver and plenty of fans will make the drive up from Calgary (hopefully I’m one of them). It has more than enough restaurants and entertainment options. Another higher End hotel and a few tweaks to the transit system and its set to go. Edmonton is far from the backwater city it used to be 20 years ago and is on a steep incline in almost all aspects. It’s not Montreal or Toronto but deserves some respect.
**Edit**plus Edmonton has always put on a good show!

[savevp]

It’s coming home!

In my mind, there’s no doubt by now that soccer is the number 2 sport behind hockey in this country. Hockey is hockey (and us Leafs fans can sympathise with England’s long run of bitter disappointment) and will never be dethroned - Canada is a winter nation, but soccer has been the number two long before we had MLS or CPL.

I think it’s a fair to say Canada is actually the Anglosphere country with the strongest support for soccer outside the UK and maybe Ireland (and maybe Singapore?). You’d never, for instance, see the quantity of Euro car flags in the US or Australia as you do in Toronto right now.

Edmonton will also do a great job hosting. The city will surely dress up nicely for the world and every Canadian city looks lovely in summertime. Flame away, too, but Id love to see Skydome pick up Montreal’s matches.

[thenoflyzone]

More proof that we aren't a soccer nation.

Copa America semi-final happening right now. Argentina-Colombia.

TSN and RDS are official broadcasters here in Canada. Neither are showing the match right now. They are showing MLB, UFC and NBA. That's what people want to watch. Not soccer.

[Denscity]

It would be nice if Vancouver stepped back in seeing as Montreal dropped out.

[savevp]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

More proof that we aren't a soccer nation.

Copa America semi-final happening right now. Argentina-Colombia.

TSN and RDS are official broadcasters here in Canada. Neither are showing the match right now. They are showing MLB, UFC and NBA. That's what people want to watch. Not soccer.

Meanwhile England-Denmark and Italy-Spain were the most popular programming on their respective days, according to Bell Fibe. Point is you can pick and choose whichever stats you like to determine whether Canada is or isn't a soccer nation, as if it matters or is at all quantifiable.

[jawagord]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

It's coming home. I can hope.

Canada is not a football nation Which sport has the greatest participation? It ain't yer hockee, yer 'ball', yer cfl/nfl 3 hours to play 60 minutes of which about 30 minutes is actual action 'ball. Which sport is played by a high % of females. It may not be that big amongst the cradle Canadians and the Don Cherry/F-150/Tims double double crowd but it is the most played sport in Canada. For all of the interest in CFL/NFL how many people actually play the game. Very few.

Fingers crossed for an england victory tomorrow and then again on Sunday.

A faux football nation, we think Vindaloo is a Indian chicken dish!

https://youtu.be/va6nPu-1auE

[thewave46]

If soccer elicited anywhere the same response the 2010 Canada-USA hockey game did, sure.

Or if a Canadian team went deep into the NHL playoffs. See what Montreal's doing this year.

That's soccer culture in countries that have that culture.

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by savevp

Meanwhile England-Denmark and Italy-Spain were the most popular programming on their respective days, according to Bell Fibe. Point is you can pick and choose whichever stats you like to determine whether Canada is or isn't a soccer nation, as if it matters or is at all quantifiable.

England-Denmark is tomorrow. As for today’s Italy-Spain, well of course. There was no hockey today!

I’m not picking and choosing. It’s a fact. We aren’t a soccer nation.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by esquire

What people remember from these tournaments are the matches, the players, the winners... not stupid things like the fact that there is a track around Commonwealth Stadium (even the most casual international soccer fan will know that tracks in soccer stadiums are a common fixture in much of the world...

No they aren't. Stadio Olimpico is the famous example of a cavernous, soulless spectator experience (for the two teams in teeming, eternal Rome! weird), but I honestly can't think of any other stadiums with running tracks in any of the top flight football leagues. Can you name another one?

People who go to the stadiums to see matches remember everything about the experience of the trip, not just the matches themselves. Actually, the memoirs and anecdotes and stories I've seen and heard universally focus on what happens away from the pitch, not on it. Think about it: everyone in the world has seen the matches and knows what happened. When your friend comes back from two weeks in Brazil in 2014, what do you talk about?

And we're offering them freakin' Edmonton? Christ!

"I have quoted an unnamed British athlete as describing the Alberta capital as `Deadmonton,' I have remarked on the `visually unappealing' nature of the place and poked gentle fun at one newspaper headline above a report on the men's marathon which read: Gritty Canadian Thrills Crowd with Gutsy Run for 42nd Spot.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/repor...ticle-1.259335

Originally Posted by esquire

Toronto and BMO are closer to Edmonton and Commonwealth than they are to London and Wembley.

BMO is closer to a high school football stadium in Texas than it is to Wembley, but have you not been to Toronto in the last few decades? I think that would explain your dig above where you called it "plain." Because call it what you will, that's the one thing it definitely ain't. If you were going to assign a position to it on the continuum between London and Edmonton, I'd say it edges slightly past the halfway point toward London, given that Edmonton lacks any of the charm or fine-grained urbanity that Toronto and London have. Or just, you know, stuff in general that international visitors expect in a big city during an international football tournament.

Seems like we've argued about this stuff before: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...postcount=4748

[savevp]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

England-Denmark is tomorrow. As for today’s Italy-Spain, well of course. There was no hockey today!

I’m not picking and choosing. It’s a fact. We aren’t a soccer nation.

Sorry, Ukraine.

I don’t understand why there has to be a dichotomy between soccer and hockey. Obviously Canada is hockey-first. What impact that has on this confected all-or-nothing soccer nation status is beyond me, at least. There’s no check box where FIFA can tick off which countries are and aren’t befitting such a title.

Is Wales a soccer nation? Rugby is more popular there but they’ve got club(s) in the Premier League. What about Denmark, who”s national stadium will soon be eclipsed in size by lowly BMO Field? What about Switzerland, they’ve got ultras, tifosi, and Xherdan Shaqiri, surely they’re a soccer nation? Except wait, hockey is more popular there. Was Canada briefly a soccer nation when the Spanish fans took over a streetcar in Toronto?

There’s no fact whether or not a country is a soccer nation. Some countries have soccer as the most popular sport, some don’t. Some countries have it as number two. The US will be primary hosts in 2026 yet soccer isn’t even top five. This soccer nation diatribe has no meaning whatsoever.

[Coldrsx]

Wow dude.

We can all agree that MTL/TOR/VAN would have been nice to have included in this, but our secondary cities of QC/Ott/Ham/Win/Edm/Cal can hold their own my friend.

I've been to Austin for F1, hardly an international city and it was fantastic.

I've been to Shanghai for F1, very much an international city and it was a very mediocre race fan experience.

Edmonton will need to step its game up, pretty itself up (she is hard to love at times) and put on its best face... but generally is a very good host of major events.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rousseau

No they aren't. Stadio Olimpico is the famous example of a cavernous, soulless spectator experience (for the two teams in teeming, eternal Rome! weird), but I honestly can't think of any other stadiums with running tracks in any of the top flight football leagues. Can you name another one?

Not necessarily in the European top flight leagues, but they are still somewhat common in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. There are even a few left in Europe like Olimpico as you mentioned, Berlin, Stade de France, Brussels.

People who go to the stadiums to see matches remember everything about the experience of the trip, not just the matches themselves. Actually, the memoirs and anecdotes and stories I've seen and heard universally focus on what happens away from the pitch, not on it. Think about it: everyone in the world has seen the matches and knows what happened. When your friend comes back from two weeks in Brazil in 2014, what do you talk about?

And we're offering them freakin' Edmonton? Christ!

Do people go home and complain about the configuration of the stadium? Did people attending the World Cup in 2014 go home complaining that some matches were held in provincial backwaters?

BMO is closer to a high school football stadium in Texas than it is to Wembley, but have you not been to Toronto in the last few decades? I think that would explain your dig above where you called it "plain." Because call it what you will, that's the one thing it definitely ain't. If you were going to assign a position to it on the continuum between London and Edmonton, I'd say it edges slightly past the halfway point toward London, given that Edmonton lacks any of the charm or fine-grained urbanity that Toronto and London have. Or just, you know, stuff in general that international visitors expect in a big city during an international football tournament.

Seems like we've argued about this stuff before: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...postcount=4748

I know you don't live in Toronto, but this is typical Toronto thinking. Let's face it, Canada is part of the supporting cast of the 2026 World Cup even though some seem to think Toronto is the star. The world will probably pay about as much attention to Toronto and Edmonton as it did to Cuiabá and Manaus at the 2014 World Cup.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Edmonton will need to step its game up, pretty itself up (she is hard to love at times) and put on its best face... but generally is a very good host of major events.

Edmonton is a top notch host of major events. I would bet that our pal rousseau has never travelled to Edmonton to attend one because no one who has would draw the conclusions that he did.

[Coldrsx]

https://edmonton2026.com

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by esquire

Do people go home and complain about the configuration of the stadium?

People would definitely take note of how crappy BMO is were a World Cup match held there. Without question. When you look at the calibre of football stadiums that normally host games, there's no way that Canada's lack of a single, solitary stadium suited to the greatest show on earth wouldn't be taken note of in the international media.

With how epic the tournament is, nothing goes unexamined. Safety in Brazil, safety and perceived regressive social attitudes in Russia, the military coup before the tournament in Argentina, etc. Everything is up for grabs for commentary, and how ugly and uninteresting Edmonton are would be no exception.

Why go out of our way to confirm stereotypes about Canada? What a shit show this is turning out to be.

Originally Posted by esquire

I know you don't live in Toronto, but this is typical Toronto thinking. Let's face it, Canada is part of the supporting cast of the 2026 World Cup even though some seem to think Toronto is the star. The world will probably pay about as much attention to Toronto and Edmonton as it did to Cuiabá and Manaus at the 2014 World Cup.

Actually, Manaus is considered the poster child for wasting money on a stadium that sits unused after the tournament, and the consensus seems to be that it never should have been used as a venue. It was a controversial choice right from the get-go, and I recall contentious opinions and reporting at the time in 2014.

https://www.theguardian.com/football...on-fifa-manaus

Yeah, Canada will be second or third fiddle. But why the heck shouldn't we put our best foot forward? Edmonton is an embarrassing choice as a host city. No other country would do this.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by esquire

Edmonton is a top notch host of major events. I would bet that our pal rousseau has never travelled to Edmonton to attend one because no one who has would draw the conclusions that he did.

The World Cup isn't a "major event." It's the most monumental, epic, legendary and iconic sporting event on earth. The fact that we've somehow decided that Edmonton should be a venue instead of Montreal or Vancouver is clear evidence that it doesn't matter to Canadians.

We're not taking it seriously. It's actually insulting. We should just drop out of the damn thing altogether and preserve some self-respect.

[technomad]

Originally Posted by rousseau

The World Cup isn't a "major event." It's the most monumental, epic, legendary and iconic sporting event on earth. The fact that we've somehow decided that Edmonton should be a venue instead of Montreal or Vancouver is clear evidence that it doesn't matter to Canadians.

We're not taking it seriously. It's actually insulting. We should just drop out of the damn thing altogether and preserve some self-respect.

I'm so disappointed there's only going to be 5 more years of your butthurt on this

Personally I could give two shits about any sort of sports ball on talmudvision, but I'm going to make a special effort to get onscreen during the match for you

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by rousseau

The World Cup isn't a "major event." It's the most monumental, epic, legendary and iconic sporting event on earth. The fact that we've somehow decided that Edmonton should be a venue instead of Montreal or Vancouver is clear evidence that it doesn't matter to Canadians.

We're not taking it seriously. It's actually insulting. We should just drop out of the damn thing altogether and preserve some self-respect.

A lot of people around the World including me would disagree with you there bud. The World Cup is a major event held every 4 years. Nothing more, nothing less. I know I place the Olympic games head and shoulders above the Soccer World Cup.

We have read your opinion now multiple times, you aren't going to change anyones views with your rambles. Soccer is soccer. It is being held in Edmonton in 2026. Canada sucks at it, and treats it accordingly. Big deal. You want to push your agenda whatever it might be, then maybe get off the couch and go play for Canada and promote the game.