GIVEN the amount of attention on the United States in the build-up to this summer’s World Cup, it’s easy to forget that this tournament is actually co-hosted by three different countries.

One of them, Canada, is hosting the men’s World Cup for the first time.

The tournament has been to Mexico twice, in 1970 and 1986, and to the United States once, in 1994, but 2026 is a monumental moment for Canadian football, as its men’s team will play its first-ever home matches in a World Cup, following in the footsteps of the women’s team, who did so in 2015.

Canada’s men’s team has made great steps forward in recent decades, to the point where it can be easy to forget how far they’ve come.

They achieved their highest ever Fifa ranking in 2025, climbing as high as 26, and now sit a very respectable 30th. They are also ranked second in their regional confederation, Concacaf, just behind Mexico.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was only the second time Canada had qualified for a final tournament, the only other occasion being as far back as Mexico in 1986, so 2026 will also be the first time they have appeared in back-to-back World Cup tournaments.

It’s a landmark moment for Canadian football, on and off the pitch.

Their American head coach, former Leeds boss Jesse Marsch, has built on the work of his predecessor, John Herdman, and taken Canada to a level where it feels like they can give anyone a game on their day.

Their progress has been such that they will be disappointed not to have won any regional Concacaf tournaments in recent years, but they did manage to finish an impressive fourth as a guest team at the 2024 Copa America, only narrowly losing out on penalties to Uruguay in the third-place playoff.

While the United States and Mexico search for their star players, Canada have several they can turn to. Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies is the most obvious name, but there are others such as Ismael Kone, Moise Bombito, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, and Jonathan David, who, at 26, is already his nation’s all-time top scorer.

Canada will play their World Cup group games in the country’s two host cities for this tournament, Toronto and Vancouver. 

In what is a rare chance to host a World Cup, it’s a shame the northernmost of the co-hosts is not more widely represented beyond those two cities. Edmonton and Montreal were on the original list of potential host cities, while Regina and Calgary were also mooted early on in the process.

But it is to Toronto and Vancouver that Canadian eyes will turn, along with the eyes of the world, as the cities host 13 games in total, including each of Canada’s group games, a last 32 game each, and a last 16 game in Vancouver.

The stadium in Toronto is also the only one of the host venues across the USA and Canada that was originally built specifically for football matches.

It was constructed as the home ground for MLS side Toronto FC, and though it has since become home to the Canadian Football League (gridiron) team Toronto Argonauts, it is a rare example of a football stadium being adapted for a gridiron team, rather than the other way around.

This brings us on to Canada’s football heritage. It’s noticeable that the Argonauts play gridiron in a specific Canadian league, and not the NFL. Unlike other major sports leagues, the NBA (basketball), NHL (ice hockey, MLB (baseball), and indeed Major League Soccer, there are no Canadian teams in the NFL.

This is because Canadian football grew in isolation from other, eventually adopted codes such as soccer, rugby, and American football, and why, to this day, the rules of the CFL and Canadian football differ from those of the NFL and American football.

It could even be said that (North) American football, or gridiron, was born in Canada, with the first documented games of this style of play, where the ball is carried by hand to gain territory, taking place at the University of Toronto in 1861.

The exact moment a group of people first kicked and/or threw a ball around a field in a reasonably organised fashion is impossible to determine, but as organisation became codification, games are easier to trace, and the first association football game played in Canada is considered to be a clash between Toronto Lacrosse Club and Carlton Cricket Club on Parliament Street, Toronto, in 1876.

As is the case in the United States, professional football leagues in Canada have faced numerous difficulties, and it is only recently that there has been some semblance of stability. 

Canadian teams have played in US-based leagues such as the now-defunct North American Soccer League and the existing MLS, but despite that relative stability, just as the World Cup comes to their city, the existence of the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS team hangs in the balance, and there is talk of the franchise moving to Las Vegas.

More recently, a Canadian league that looks like it might have some staying power, the Canadian Premier League, has become a home for numerous professional teams across the country. It played its first season in 2019, and there have been a few instances of CPL teams defeating MLS sides in the nation’s domestic cup, the Canadian Championship.

A women’s competition, the Northern Super League, began play in 2025 and looks set to follow in the footsteps of the CPL in an attempt to create an enduring professional league.

As for the World Cup itself, Canada looks set to be a much more welcoming host to global visitors than its neighbour to the south. 

Even though some of the Iranian contingent had trouble attending the recent Fifa Congress in Vancouver, it seems any visa issues are easier to sort than they might be south of the border, and less likely to arise in the first place.

The picturesque Vancouver, where Canada will play two of their group games, could be one of the highlights of the tournament, and it’s a shame the 54,000-seat BC Place stadium in the city is not involved beyond the last 16, which is when Canada’s participation, at least as a hosting location, ends.

Games in Toronto, meanwhile, may draw attention due to the very temporary-looking seating added to the stadium to meet Fifa’s minimum capacity requirements. Games there will also not be subject to inflated prices on the resale market, as the sale of tickets over face value is prohibited in the province of Ontario. Though this doesn’t change the fact that Fifa’s face value prices are themselves extortionate across the board to begin with.

Canadians will be optimistic about their team’s chances, while visitors may find it to be the most hospitable and comfortable of the host cities, especially in the middle of summer, when respite from the heat is more likely to be found in the north.

From all angles, Canada will be keenly anticipating the World Cup, and the world should be looking forward to experiencing Canada, as it could turn out to be the winner among the host countries.