In total, 7.6 million Canadians are immigrants. This is 20% of the country’s total population, so one in five Canadian residents comes from other countries including India, China, the Philippines, Nigeria, in the top 10 (according to Statista), Pakistan, and Eritrea.
These numbers make Canada the eighth country in the world with the highest number of immigrants, and in the Americas, it is surpassed only by the United States (48.2 million). What seems like a simple statistical matter is in fact a factor that changes Canadian cultural and sporting history, especially on the football field.
“Because it is a multicultural country, with more and more immigrants from all over and football being the most popular sport in the world, families with children have come to pass on their passion for football and try to discover the possibilities of playing. This is a huge benefit to Canada, because DNA is collected from all over the world and it is internalized, it is a very interesting social phenomenon,” Alex Mejía, Master in Business and Football Administration who has been alive for three years, describes to El Economista in Canada.
The talents of the world are reflected in the ranks of the men’s team: Alphonso Davies, the leading figure, was born in Ghana and had Liberian citizenship through his parents until he was 17, but at that time he was recognized as Canadian for having spent more than living in Edmonton for ten years. It was not until the summer of 2020 that he became the first Canadian footballer to win the Champions League with Bayern Munich.
Other similar cases include Sam Adekugbe, who was born in London to Nigerian parents; Jonathan Osorio, born in Toronto to Colombian parents; Atiba Hutchinson, born in Brampton of Trinidadian parents; as well as Cyle Larin and Lucas Cavallini, also born in Toronto of Jamaican and Argentine descent respectively. They are all part of the current squad that will take on Mexico, Jamaica and Panama on the FIFA date in October.
“Canada is a huge and very football-loving country thanks to the immigrants that have arrived, Africans as well as Europeans and Latinos who have contributed to the roots of Canadian football (…) In addition, Canada has invested millions of dollars in restructuring football from children to senior teams and every province affiliated with the Canadian Soccer Association has raised money for talent,” added Roger Grinolds, Canadian sports commentator.
With the development of these and other players, Canada aims to qualify for the second Men’s Soccer World Cup, having only done so in 1986 in Mexico. Although they had a talented generation between the late 1990s and early 2000s with elements like Craig Forrest, Jason De Vos and Paul Stalteri, the current litter includes Davies at Bayern, Larin at Besiktas (Turkey) and Jonathan David at Lille (French champion) is one of the reasons why more fans in that country choose football.
“Canada has been in a rut for decades due to a lack of different aspects: talents, structures, clubs, opportunities, fans, interest from television stations and sponsors, but what is happening now is due to several factors: one, that there is already a professional league which is in its third year and has generated national and international interest; two, that the men’s team finally has a competitive squad with players in key teams in Europe; three, interest has increased as the country is set to host the 2026 World Cup; and four, for the performance of the women’s team, at the Olympics, winning bronze in London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as gold in Tokyo 2020″, evaluates Mejía, who also participated as a volunteer in the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup cup. .
The current male generation has already made history by qualifying for the final round of the Concacaf qualifiers, something they hadn’t achieved since the 1998 Hexagonal in France; Heading into Qatar 2022, they are the second best team in the Octagonal after three matches, with five points and only surpassed by Mexico (7).
“Everything is happening at the same time, with this new generation of not only players and teams, but also fans, who are different from 20 or 30 years ago. It is also due to modern, digital and globalized football. It is easier to get closer to fans on social media, content on pages and with athletes on their accounts.”
The sports business expert describes that all regions of Canada have increased their number of soccer players to contribute to the rosters of various categories, with an emphasis on regions such as Ontario, Vancouver and Edmonton. According to a Sports Zion media poll, ‘football’ is already the sixth most followed sport in the country, ahead of rugby or basketball, and the highest participation rate with more than 2.6 million residents practicing it, according to FIFA figures.
Remodeling infrastructure, programs and competitions
The football landscape in Canada began to change between 2007 and 2010, Mejía says, thanks to the incursion of his first clubs into MLS, the top division in the United States. Since then, Toronto FC, CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps have all competed, with the former being the sole champion (2017) and also the nation’s first representatives in a Concachampions final (second in 2018).
The development accelerated in 2019 when the Canadian Premier League was founded, with 10 teams in which each of the owners invested about $50 million, as documented by Forbes in 2018. In this league, for example, Atlético Ottawa, owned by Atlético de Madrid, competes; Forge FC, by Robert Young, founder of Red Hat Inc; of York United, owned by Greenpark Group, with Italian investment.
The Media Pro company owns the broadcasting rights of the Canadian Prime Minister and that has also brought more exposure to football, in addition to developing children and adolescents in private academies.
“In the 1990s, the Canadian national team’s games were broadcast on a sports channel that gave priority to baseball. With the evolution of the internet and other applications where people can watch streaming, more sports channels have sprung up in Canada and now they broadcast the national team’s matches live and with replays at night,” Grinolds said.
“The aim of Canadian football is to be present in all tournaments where it can compete in both the national team and clubs, and a greater presence in youth tournaments so that European clubs can detect talent. The goal is to have a higher performing presence and compete with mindset and approach against the best in the world, not just compete. Canada has learned to identify its strengths and weaknesses and, based on that, has been able to build up little by little to get where it is today and spark interest in its people,” concludes Alex Mejía.
