Hosting FIFA World Cup will change soccer in Canada forever: organizer

VANCOUVER — Watching the first men’s World Cup game to ever be played on Canadian soil, Peter Montopoli felt grateful — and relieved.

The country’s chief tournament officer has spent the past decade working to bring soccer’s biggest showcase to Canada. Now that it’s here, Montopoli believes all the hard work has all been worthwhile.

“It’s overwhelming in a certain way to see how the country’s embraced it, to see how everybody was so enthralled with the moment,” he said.

“Everybody loves a World Cup, but why wouldn’t we want to be ambitious in hosting the game? It was a relief and a reward for the country.”

Montopoli was in Toronto Stadium on Friday as Canada earned a historic first World Cup point in a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The next night, he was in Vancouver with FIFA president Gianni Infantino for that city’s first game where Australia blanked Turkey 2-0.

Infantino has been to Vancouver many times, Montopoli said, but hadn’t seen its stadium, BC Place, kitted out for the World Cup.

“There’s a stadium, and then there’s a FIFA stadium,” he said. “He just loved the spectacle of it. You could tell that he was very enamoured with how the stadium looks and feels, and just the reception of the people and people welcoming him.”

This summer’s tournament is the biggest ever, with 48 teams competing in 104 games across Canada, the United States and Mexico between June 11 and July 19.

Toronto is staging six games while Vancouver puts on seven.

The parliamentary budget officer issued a report last month estimated that the federal government will spend $473 million to host the games, with another $593 million coming from other levels of government.

The report said the average of $82 million per game is roughly in line with what previous host countries have spent.

For the last 10 years, a large part of Montopoli’s job has been convincing people that bringing the World Cup makes sense for the country, then encouraging them to put in as many resources as possible to make it special.

“We had high standards here in Canada,” he said. “And we just tried and set the tone of why people are doing this, what you’re doing it for. In a lot of ways, we were doing it for Canada, we were doing it for football.”

The tournament isn’t only about the games in Toronto Stadium and BC Place, he added.

From the beginning, Canada’s bid included plans to bring the energy and excitement of the World Cup to as many parts of the country as possible.

FIFA took the golden trophy to seven cities across the country in April and May, and is now staging Canada Celebrates, a 40-stop tour that includes viewing parties, live entertainment and soccer-themed activities.

Toronto and Vancouver are also staging fan festivals, and Montopoli checked out the Vancouver version on Sunday, giving it a glowing review.

“It’s so beautiful to see how everybody’s getting along,” he said. “Everybody’s high fiving, everybody’s having a great experience. That’s the people’s World Cup, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. And so it’s just beautiful to see every country represented here in Vancouver for a World Cup. Beautiful. It’s about humanity.”

Montopoli, former secretary general of Canada Soccer, believes the true beauty of hosting the games is yet to come.

While the tournament will have economic benefits, he sees the lasting impact on soccer across the country being even larger.

“It’ll change the sport,” he said.

“Let’s just get more people involved in the sport to make it bigger and better. It’s the world’s game, so why can’t it be that in Canada? That’s what I’ve always felt.”

Soccer already has the highest participation numbers of any sport across the country, and staging these 13 games in Vancouver and Toronto will both drive investment and show kids there’s a pathway to playing at the highest levels, Montopoli said.

He noted that Toronto previously hosted the U-20 World Cup in 2007 and that tournament’s impact can still be seen today in BMO Field — the venue that’s been renamed Toronto Stadium for the World Cup.

“I think it’s time to rally everything behind the sport, having kids aspire to be a national team athlete, to be a professional footballer,” he said. “In our country, maybe they’re aspiring to be hockey players or something. But there’s nothing wrong with trying to aspire to be a footballer, and now you can see there are opportunities to do that.”

As for his own future, Montopoli is less clear.

He’s spent decades shaping and shepherding soccer across Canada, and hasn’t given much thought to where he might turn his attention when the World Cup concludes.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to do this for football, do this for Canada, and we’ll see what comes next,” he said. “I’m happy to sit back and watch the next generation do their work. I’d be happy just to do that. That’s enough.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press