‘Where the Energy Is’: Youth Football Surpasses Hockey as Canada Prepares for 2026 World Cup Debut

TORONTO, June 7 — Canada may not typically sit at the center of the global football scene, but when it hosts its first World Cup match next year, international fans will find a country where the sport is rapidly gaining ground.

Canada’s World Cup debut is set for June 12, 2026, in Toronto—a city known for its multicultural makeup, where immigration has played a pivotal role in fueling football’s growth.

Football, or soccer as it’s commonly known in Canada, has become the most popular sport among Canadian youth. While the nation's passion for ice hockey remains, participation has declined in recent years, often due to the rising costs associated with the sport.

Majied Ali, founder of Toronto’s Islamic Soccer League, has witnessed football’s growing appeal firsthand. He launched the league in 1996 with just 34 children. Today, it serves around 1,500 players in the immigrant-rich Scarborough area.

“We started with just $20 per player,” said Ali, a Trinidadian immigrant. “Now it’s CAN$100 per season, and we still have a waitlist.” He attributes the league’s growth to successive waves of immigration from Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Syria.

Football on the Rise, Hockey on the Decline

A 2024 Jumpstart Foundation report on youth sports in Canada found soccer to be the most widely played sport nationwide, across nearly all demographics except those with disabilities. About 62 percent of youth reported playing football at least once in the past three years, compared to 44 percent for swimming.

The report also revealed cultural patterns in sports preference: 76 percent of Arab youth named football as their top sport, followed by South Asians at 69 percent. White youth ranked sixth, at 58 percent.

In contrast, youth participation in ice hockey has dropped 33 percent over the past 15 years. “Soccer is cheaper and requires less equipment,” noted University of Toronto emeritus professor Dave Cooper.

‘We Know Where the Energy Is’

At Woodgreen, a Toronto-based social services agency, youth sports coordinator Erik Wexler said demand clearly favors football and basketball. The organization serves low-income and immigrant families—communities that gravitate toward accessible, culturally familiar sports.

“We’re not picking sports at random,” Wexler told AFP. “We know where the energy is.”

He emphasized that football is more than a game—it offers community and belonging for newcomers juggling multiple jobs and cramped living conditions. Many parents eagerly enroll their children in the program, grateful for the sense of normalcy it brings.

“I’ve never met more grateful people,” Wexler added.

Even with the World Cup still a year away, Wexler said excitement is already building among youth. Co-hosting the tournament with the United States and Mexico presents a unique opportunity to elevate the sport’s momentum in Canada.

Interest in the World Cup has surged, especially following Canada’s qualification for the 2022 Qatar tournament—its first in 36 years—led by star player Alphonso Davies. Many Canadians cheered for their ancestral homelands, but increasingly, they’re rallying behind Team Canada.

The 2026 tournament marks an unprecedented moment, said Cooper. “Canada has never hosted anything of this scale.”

In addition to Toronto, World Cup matches will also take place in Vancouver. — AFP