
Long road for soccer to become mainstream sport in Canada
This week’s FIFA break can see Canada end a 36-year drought and qualify for its second World Cup.
It’s been a long road for Canadian soccer fans to get to this point but the magical run has been worth the wait. It looks as though this high the Canucks are on won’t end anytime soon as the foundations are in place to keep the Canadian men’s national program a Concacaf power for years to come.
In many ways, Canada has the MLS to thank for its current success. Before examining the present, we have to respect the past, and the road traveled that has gotten us to this point.
Soccer isn’t a new sport in Canada. There have been rare successes in men’s international play.
The men captured a gold medal at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis. In the 1985 Concacaf Championship, Canada won the title to claim a spot in their first World Cup, the 1986 tournament in Mexico. In 2000, Canada pulled off a stunning run to the Concacaf Gold Cup title, beating Colombia in the final at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The success of the women’s Canadian program is a story for another day but we must acknowledge that their success has also created a buzz for soccer in Canada, most recently with a Gold medal performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Lady Canucks also earned bronze medals in the 2012 and 2016 Games. And Canada’s own Christine Sinclair holds the record for most international goals scored, men or women – 188.
Domestically Canada didn’t have its own major professional soccer league until the late 1980s. From 1968-1984 most Canadian soccer players played in the defunct North American Soccer League (NASL), a league featuring the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, and George Best.
Two different Canadian clubs won the NASL championship, i.e. the Soccer Bowl. The Toronto Metros-Croatia (known more commonly as the Toronto Blizzard) won in 1976 and the Vancouver Whitecaps hoisted the trophy in 1979.
Though the league ceased operations in 1984, the league’s Canadian players were instrumental in helping the county earn a spot in the 1986 World Cup.
Canada established its domestic league banking off its first World Cup appearance. The Canadian Soccer League operated from 1987-1992. Unfortunately, the “Big Three“ Canadian cities – Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver – were the only franchises to remain healthy. There was also participation in a second division league known as the A-League that also featured U.S. soccer clubs . From the mid-1990s through to the mid-2000s not one Canadian city hosted a FIFA level one soccer club.
In 2007, Toronto FC became the first Canadian club to join the U.S.-based Major League Soccer. This would ultimately plant the seeds for the country to become relevant in the soccer world and in Concacaf.
The Vancouver Whitecaps arrived in 2011 and the Montreal Impact was born in 2012 (now renamed CF Montreal). By then there was a blueprint in place for growing the game and developing players, something Canada had failed to do for decades.
The emergence of three Canadian-based MLS clubs helped out big time and it’s paying off now as evidenced by the clubs’ thriving youth academies and lower-level domestic soccer leagues helping youngsters develop. Fifteen of the 25 players summoned to Canada’s camp this month are on MLS squads or have played in the league.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Alphonso Davies. Not only is he one of Canada’s most popular athletes, the Bayern Munich phenom is a global star. His achievements have helped create this emerging Canadian soccer fever.
Davies personifies Canada’s status as a multicultural society. Born in a refugee camp in Ghana, his family fled civil war and relocated to Edmonton. Davies played his youth soccer in Edmonton eventually moving to the west coast to join the Vancouver Whitecaps academy in 2015 at the age of 14.
After tearing it up in the residency system and joining the professional squad in MLS, Davies began making headlines with his speed and high-end skill. Catching the attention of clubs overseas, Bayern Munich won the sweepstakes for his services and the 21-year-old Davies is now an inspiration for Canadian youth across the nation.
The awarding of 2026 FIFA World Cup to the USA, Mexica and Canada led to the creation of the Canadian Premier League, the first fully domestic league in over 30 years. The CPL debuted in 2019 and it has grown to eight clubs. The league is considered a level one pro league by FIFA and the CPL provides opportunities for Canadians to play professional soccer, a fact that will help keep Canada a staple in the Concacaf region.
Thursday in Costa Rica is Canada’s first chance to book their flights to Qatar for the World Cup. If they do so, Canada will receive a hero’s welcome back home on March 27 when they play host to Jamaica. If they need a few more points, the Jamaica game could make for a Sunday Funday for the home supporters. Canada concludes its qualifying schedule in Panama on Wednesday, March 30.