What to know
- FIFA festivities in Toronto begin June 10 with the Countdown Concert at Fort York and The Bentway, featuring performances by Bryan Adams, Nora Fatehi with DJ Sanjoy, Vegedream, and AHI alongside Wyclef Jean.
- While Fort York will host the opening celebrations, many residents expect the excitement to spread across the city, with Liberty Village emerging as a top hotspot due to its proximity to Toronto Stadium and BMO Field.
- Locals say bars and restaurants in Liberty Village are already seeing increased crowds, with visitors arriving through Exhibition GO Station and some residents renting out their homes for FIFA fans.
- Other anticipated fan hubs include downtown near Eaton Centre and Sankofa Square, as well as Harbourfront, where a floating futsal pitch will be open from June 11 to July 19.
- Toronto’s first match takes place on June 12 between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Are two flags better than one? Toronto is one week out from FIFA World Cup games and festivities, and while fans gear up to watch their favourite teams play, some of them may be wearing more than one jersey this season when showing their support.
A poll, conducted by American research company The Harris Poll, showed that a majority of Canadians plan to root for more than one team during the World Cup, noting their background connected to at least one country outside of Canada.
Among Canadians with diverse national backgrounds, 63 per cent said their choice teams tend to reflect both their Canadian identity and their family heritage, the poll reads. Additionally, 59 per cent said a single country didn’t fully represent their World Cup identity.
For the 2026 tournament, 48 countries are expected to compete, an expansion from the previous format which only allowed 32 teams to play.
The data also showed that 76 per cent of Canadians agreed that fans shouldn’t have to choose between Team Canada and their heritage nation during the World Cup.
Online reaction
Many fans online supported the results of the data, with some saying it’s normal for a fan to be able to root for more than one country.
“Were Canadian, so now that we’re in the World Cup mix, we’ll cheer for Canada, but the boys – they’re young – they’re gonna cheer for Scotland and England too, where my parents are from,” one Reddit user said.
Another Reddit user agreed, pushing the narrative of simultaneously supporting a person’s new home.
“I support my home country Slovenia and Canada where I live now!”
One Reddit user added that due to the Canadian team’s dwindling success rate, some fans may opt to also root for other teams.
“Here in Canada, it’s quite common for people to be fans of multiple national teams in addition to the [Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team], because of the lack of success for our national team historically, a lot of people have followed other national teams for a number of… reasons, but also just to get their fix of international football,” they wrote.
Dual flags to help fans celebrate multiple teams
With the data by The Harris Poll, Volkswagen Canada opted to create a limited-edition series of dual-sides Canadian and heritage nation flags. The flag will display Canada on one side, and one of five heritage nations competing in this summer’s international soccer tournament on the other, including Germany, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina and Korea Republic.
The automobile manufacturer wrote in a press release that they created the flags as a way of allowing fans to show support to more than one nation.
“The flags reflect the multicultural identities that continue to shape soccer culture across Canada,” they wrote in part.
Volkswagen Canada will distribute the custom dual-sided flags at multiple locations throughout Toronto that will be tied to each heritage community.
June 11 – Canada and Mexico flag: Kensington Market area – 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
June 11 – Canada and Korea Republic flag: Koreatown area – 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
June 14 – Canada and Germany: Front St and John St area – 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
June 16 – Canada and Argentina: College St and Ossington Ave area – 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
June 17 – Canada and Portugal: Dundas St W and Dufferin St area – 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
