The Current - The World Cup is over, but soccer in Canada sure isn't

Episode Date: July 22, 2026

More and more young Canadians want to play soccer after watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But is there enough room on the field for all of them? Soccer was already the fastest growing youth sport in the country, and local club organizers say interest has only grown since hosting the World Cup — and in some cases, resources were already stretched thin. We speak with two Canadians who organize local soccer clubs about how the World Cup is transforming their communities, and then take a look at the future of the sport on a national level with Mark Cohon, the Board Chair of the Northern Super League .

Hi, Steve Patterson here, host of the debaters, and while I love a funny fight, there's one thing that's not up for debate. The Stratford Festival is world-class theater right here in Canada. Whether you're a fan of Shakespeare, musicals, or classics like Death of a Salesman or Waiting for Godot, there's no better time to experience Canadian talent and no better place to see it than the Stratford Festival. So get your tickets now at Stratfordfestable.cai and experience world-class performance the whole family can enjoy. You know, we even taped the debaters there once, so I guess we're world-class now. This is a CBC podcast.

Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. I think it's, like, really cool because they're, like, so good. It hikes me up for a game, and it makes me think about how I could be as good as them. I want to try some of the skills that they work on, and I'm going to practice them every time I come up to a soccer pitch. The FIFA men's World Cup may be over, but for many young Canadians, soccer is still top of mind. Players across the country say watching Team Canada play,

inspired them to lace up their cleats and hit the pitch. Makes me think that maybe I will play for Team Canada or like go places, seeing how far they come and really inspired me to do the same. One of my biggest dreams to go play one day in the World Cup, just like all the professionals do. And it's really amazing to be able to watch the best players in the world play in our country. I hope myself that if I get good enough and I'm going to keep on working hard,

that I could make the Canadian team. Those were a few young soccer players in Ontario, and they're not alone in their dreams. Soccer is considered the fastest growing sport among youth in Canada, and the World Cup has sparked a renewed interest and excitement around the game. But some local organizers worry they don't have enough resources

to keep up with the growing demand. Josh Bender is executive director of the Vancouver Athletic Football Club. Julia Friesen is president of the Niagara-on-the-Lake soccer club in Ontario. Josh, Julia, good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Rebecca. Thanks for having us on.

Josh, I'll start with you. You know, Vancouver was one of the host cities, this World Cup. What kind of energy did that bring to your own club's pitches? Yeah, no, it's been incredible. I think the biggest word I'd say is inspiration. Our kids have been inspired by seeing what's happening in the city, seeing what's happening around the world. And it's really translated into incredible amount of registrations on the pitch.

So we're up 20% year over year. It's been incredible. You are. And so do you have the resources to keep up with that? 20% more kids. That's, you know, kids, they're a lot. So how do you keep up with that? Yeah, we're one of the largest in Vancouver with over 3,400 registered kids. So we're bursting at the seams. So, you know, I want to congratulate the city in doing a fantastic job on hosting the World Cup. At the same time, we'd love to see follow up on a commitment to build more artificial turf, more fields for our kids to play on.

Julia, you're at Niagara on the Lake. What have you been hearing from players and parents right now about how the World Cup has influenced them? Yeah, so kids are talking about players they've watched on TV, arriving to practices wearing national team jerseys. Parents are talking more about soccer and asking about registration well into the season. The Canadian women's team has proudly been representing Canada on the world stage for years. So now that the men's team is sharing that stage, even more children can see themselves represented in the game. So it's really exciting and you can feel the energy for sure.

I understand you have two young kids who play soccer as well. What have they thought through all of this? They are, they loved it. They loved watching. They enjoy soccer. And I've always loved soccer. But now kind of seeing that translated into into their excitement is just really great to see. And for you, you heard Josh say about the resources and needing perhaps more pitches and that kind of support. What are you feeling like you need right now to keep up with demand? Yeah, and interest and excitement has been incredibly strong, and we want every child who wants to play to have that opportunity. So growth for us definitely means more volunteer coaches and enough field space, including year-round field space, which would be incredible. And what level of government, Josh, do you think needs to be involved in ensuring that there is enough space and enough, there are enough coaches to take care of all of the kids you have registered? Yeah, I think for us it's really at a city level. Vancouver itself just doesn't have enough artificial turf for everybody to play,

especially if you compare it to surrounding suburbs to actually spend the least amount per capita on our fields compared to other surrounding areas in the lower mainland. So I'd love to see the city of Vancouver step up and keep their commitment to making more fields. Julia, for you, who do you hope steps up right now when you're feeling the pinch a little bit? The town of Neger and the Lake has been incredibly supportive this year. We have an excellent partnership with field availability from them. They've done things even this year like extend our season after we've kind of dealt with some weather-related cancellations due to extreme heat and poor air quality. But the town has been incredibly supportive partner.

They've even secured an Airbnb grant along with a community grant which has helped us to invest and grow in local soccer. But the World Cup, it's exciting and the legacy that happens in the state. stadiums. It's awesome, but it's what happens afterwards. If we continue to invest in these volunteers, fields, affordable programs, the tournament won't just inspire kids for a few weeks. It could continue to inspire a whole generation of Canadians to continue to fall in love with the sport. Josh, what about you for your coaches? How do you sign up volunteer coaches, which I understand the majority of the time they are volunteers? Yeah, they are. And I agree with Julie, exactly. You know, the city and the municipal

governments and provincial and federal need to continue their commitment long enough this term is over. We have about 600 volunteer coaches, and we're doing pretty well with that. That's probably not one of our larger issues. So, you know, most, we have a lot of dedicated parents who volunteer to help keep in the club running. Julie, I'm glad you brought up how the women have long been at the forefront of great soccer in this country. And so how does the women's team fit into this conversation. What are you hearing from the girls who you coach about their, their aspirations and following in some of those players' footsteps? When you see big names like Sabrina DiAngelo, Shalina Zedorski, Canadian National Women's

Players signing in the Northern Super League, I think it's so incredible to have a vision of that. I mean, for me and for our club, you know, that's a big, that is a big opportunity that not every kid will get, but seeing those women in those roles, I think is really inspirational for young girls. And there are sort of foundational leagues as well now. We have the Northern Super League. We have the Canadian Premier League. There are places where people who are, you know, showing some real potential have to go now. Josh, is that on the kids?

that you coach? Is that some on their radar a little bit? That there are more places to grow. Yeah, absolutely. And there's no coincidence that these leagues are being established and growing at the same time that Canada is doing so well on the world stage, both for men

and women. I would say Canada soccer did a fantastic job, you know, going back a decade or so, realizing this and establishing these leagues that we mentioned and seeing and inspiring the kids to keep playing and having a place to play in the countries. that we can have these fantastic placements in the tournaments.

Josh, do you worry at all that as you try to keep up with demand, and as you say, the city has been great in stepping up, but you perhaps need more support, do you worry in the meantime that you will have to turn kids away? Unfortunately, at some of our levels we may have to, especially at the older levels, you know, 11, 12, 13. The younger levels, we're doing okay. We have space for them.

But yeah, it's older levels, the more competitive play, where if we don't know the fields, we may have to look at limiting some of those teams. One of the things, Julie, is that we often hear is that soccer is a low barrier sport, and it's nothing like hockey which costs a lot of money and a lot of equipment. Is that true for parents who are listening right now, or are there some costs attached to playing soccer? Costs can certainly add up, especially at the travel level. At the grassroots level, clubs like ours work really hard to keep soccer affordable and accessible.

You know, we rely on dedicated volunteers, generous sponsorship from local businesses, and strong community partnerships and careful budgeting to keep soccer accessible for families because we believe every child should have the opportunity to play. Josh, how do you foster the enthusiasm within families, those families who have been watching their favorite players and have, you know, they know some names now and they want to be just like them? And for the families who want to harness that within their own family and their kids, what would you say to them?

Yeah, I think just like Julie said, we're keeping the program as accessible for everybody. There's a program for every level, whether you want to, maybe, you know, play at the competitive high level, or if you just want to kick the ball around and be recreational, I'd say we have a program for all levels, and that's kind of how you foster the enthusiasm, make sure there's a program for everybody.

Julia, do you think we have a real legacy here after, you know, partnering and co-hosting the World Cup? Do you think that it continues that we see the momentum grow, and we have long said that soccer is the fastest growing sport? But does that trend still continue as a result of what we saw with the World Cup, do you think? Absolutely. I think the excitement is here, and we can continue to grow on that.

Success for our club isn't just about producing elite athletes. It's about giving kids a place to be active, build confidence, make friends, learn teamwork, develop resilience. So those lessons kind of, they last a lifetime. Yeah. Okay. Josh and Julia, I appreciate your time today. Thank you for this. Thank you. Thanks very much.

Josh Bender is executive director of the Vancouver Athletic Football Club. he was in Vancouver. Julia Friesen is president of the Niagara on the Lake Soccer Club, and we reached her in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. Hi, Steve Patterson here, host of the debaters. And while I love a funny fight, there's one thing that's not up for debate. The Stratford Festival is world-class theater right here in Canada. Whether you're a fan of Shakespeare, musicals, or classics like Death of a Salesman or Waiting for Godot, there's no better time to experience Canadian talent and no better place to see it than the Stratford Festival. So get your tickets now at Stratford

Festival.ca and experience world-class performance the whole family can enjoy. You know, we even tape the debaters there once, so I guess we're world-class now. The news can be hard to keep up with, but sometimes I want to spend a bit more time with a story that's made headlines. That's why I produce CBC's Understood podcast. We've covered the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, the scandals surrounding Canada's very own porn hub, the controversial leader of India. Each season of understood is a short, four-episode immersive experience with a host who knows the story best. Follow so you never miss a season. Well, Mark Cohen is the board chair of the Northern Super League, Canadian Women's Pro Soccer League.

He joins us now as well on the line. Good morning. Good morning. Great to be on the show. How much enthusiasm has been building as a result of this World Cup, would you say? Well, it was great to hear your other guests and at the grassroots level of young kids playing. But I think, you know, these type of moments, whether it's the... the Olympics, whether it's the World Cup, whether it's when I worked at the NBA with the dream

team, these were catalyst, catalytic moments to build interests in leagues. And I think that's what we're going to take advantage of right now with the Northern Super League. We see so many young women, so many young kids, so many young girls who are following our league, buying our merchandise, coming out to games, watching the games on CBC that were really buoyed by this opportunity. Yeah, you're in your second year. Did you expect it to grow and have as much interest as it did right off the back. I know here in Ottawa, we have the rapid, and we have huge support for that team here.

It is amazing. When you think about it, at the last Women's World Cup, there were two countries in the world that did not have a professional league. That was Haiti and Canada. So the fact that this has grown so quickly, in our first year,

we're the third highest attendance of any women's professional soccer league in the world. We've had the best ratings for soccer on both TSN and on CBC out of any of their properties. Our NFL finals had over a million Canadians watching it. So I think that momentum and what's coming out of now what we see with the World Cup, even though the Men's World Cup, I think it really galvanizes Canadians. And now we have to turn that attention to our domestic leagues. Yeah, we talk about the momentum of the World Cup and Canada hosting.

But, you know, the question always is with these big sporting events, there's a huge price tag that comes with that. And is that worth it? No, I personally feel these type of moments are worth it for, I think, for the communities that participate, but I think it's more turning now to the legacy. So this is where I actually just wrote an op-ed piece the other day. And I think this is where now, as Canadians, we have to say, where are we investing in? What is the legacy of the World Cup?

And, you know, I think it's infrastructure plays. You're starting to see the federal government build new platforms. like the Build Canada Strong initiative where they have already given the Northern Super League some money to invest into our stadiums, into our training facilities. We're expanding

into Winnipeg. One of the things we want to build is a new modular stadium there. So these smaller stadiums, like we only have a few in Canada. In Denmark, they have one per every 450,000 people. We have one per every 7 million Canadians. So these

are initiatives, I think, that can build community, places where kids can play, they can watch their heroes. But if you think about these smaller stadiums that need to be built for the CPL and for the NSL, you're not talking about CFL size stadiums, 35,000 seats, which I knew when I was commissioner of the CFL, you're really talking about smaller places that can also be infrastructure for kids to come and play when the teams aren't playing, to have their programs, to have their initiatives. And I think that's really important as part of the legacy of this World Cup.

And the investment you believe comes from the federal government, or are there other levels of government that need to pitch in as well now? I actually think it's four-way. I think it's, you know, Fed, provinces, municipalities, and then I think it's private sector money as well. So I actually think, you know, our teams, our owners are starting to step in and put in money into facilities. So I think it's a public-private partnership that I think is a great model for us moving forward.

You heard at the grassroots level from our two previous guests that a lot of it, of course, are volunteer coaches and getting those people to sign up can be challenging and to ensure that everyone has an opportunity. So how do you ensure that the young kids who are aspirational in their dreams to be like Jonathan David have an opportunity when there are a lot of challenges along the way? Well, I think what you heard,

and hopefully people will sit up and volunteer because, you know, in growing, this is the fourth league I've been involved with, Major League Baseball, the NBA, the CFL, and now the NSL. And I realize the only way our professional domestic leagues can be successful is if you get young kids playing the game and they get people watching on television and on their phones and on their laptops. So I think the volunteer network, soccer Canada, investing more at the grassroots level really helps us on that. But then now we have a great opportunity for our women to not leave the country. If you talk to Christine Sinclair and Diana Matheson, you know, after their time in the Olympics and the World Cups,

they always had to leave Canada to go play in other countries, go play in the United States, go play in England. And they couldn't build their own profiles. Now we have an opportunity for these young players to come back to Canada, to stay in Canada after these major moments. Now, we have the Women's World Cup next year in Brazil and build their profile here. And I think that gives an opportunity for these.

these young girls who are starting to play to say, I can be like Christina Ciclair, I can be like Diana Matheson. And that's what we're excited about. You know, we talked earlier about how accessible the sport is versus another sport, say, hockey. And there are expenses. You know, I have two young boys and was trying to sign them up

for competitive soccer and was, wow, this isn't cheap. And so how do you ensure that it is low barriers and that families can sign up? Well, I think, you know, part of it is what can Soccer Canada put in to support these initiatives, what could corporate Canada do as well? You know, can corporate Canada in terms of their sponsorships, fund a lot of these grassroots initiative, or augment those families that can't afford to have their kids play? I think there's all different initiatives that you can look at to make sure that this is successful.

And then also, I think, you know, one of the things that our teams are trying to look at is what type of academies are very early in this process. But can we build academies to get young kids playing and then, come up the system to eventually be able to play in our clubs. And why do you think Canada's team was so successful and has been, we've seen the momentum growing over the last number of years, but what was the special sauce that got them to where they were this past year? Well, that's interesting.

You know, I'm not an expert as it relates to the play on the field, but I can say this. I mean, I think we've seen the build in the women, so, you know, are women ranked ninth in the world. Coming out of this, the men after the tournament of rank 14th, coming out of the World Cup. I think it's the consistent investment in younger players coming up the system, giving them those opportunities. And I also think part of it is the diversity of our country.

You're seeing young kids who came from other places in the world, immigrated to Canada, became Canadian citizens. Soccer was part of their culture, their great athletes, and then making sure there was that road, that pathway for them to play. And I think the diversity of our country is what's going to make our team, our national, team even stronger. And now, you know, with our women being able to play into the professional league, I think what you will see is then getting more time on the field playing against professional players. So when Canada then steps up and plays on the world stage, we're going to have a very competitive team. You know, part of becoming a professional soccer player in any one of the leagues we've discussed today is that you need to make money to support yourself. And at this point,

especially women, are not being paid in the same way that men are. So how do we ensure that that there is a career pathway for these folks as well. Well, if you look at you the Northern Super League, our minimum salary is very competitive with other professional leagues around the world. You know, with – and so I think that's really critical. I think the other thing that is important, and this is why our league is so important, is that these young women can start to build their profile in Canada.

They can start to get sponsored by local Canadian companies and have endorsement programs, be in the off season, be hired in different roles in these companies as well. So I think making sure that the wage increases, we are slowly continuing to increase our cap, allowing players to have a good salary. And I think that's what's critical. But it all comes with investment.

We need corporate Canada to step in. We need CBC and TSNN and other broadcasters to pay rights for our programming. These are the type of things when you build a professional, league from scratch, you need to develop. And that money then flows back into the players. So the next Women's World Cup next year, the next men's in 2030. What does soccer success in this country look like to you by the time we reach those dates? Well, I think what we'll see is we obviously want our women and our men to continue to perform well in those moments. But I also think there's interesting moments now for our league, for the Northern Super League, where we or our teams will be

competing in a national championship to get into the Concca Calf Club Championship. So all the teams in North America and the Caribbean can play in this competition. If our team succeed well in that, in 2028, there's going to be a club global competition for clubs with FIFA. If our teams can excel in those opportunities, it just builds more and more profile for the Canadian teams. more money flows into the system. And that's what we're excited about.

You know, our AFC Toronto last year played in this tournament. They were invited to play in a sevens tournament in Fort Lauderdale after our season. We beat an NWSL team in Kansas City. We were very competitive against the teams in Mexico. I think that just builds a profile where it attracts more talent, it tracks more corporate dollars, attracts more people wanting to go to the stadium. So I think these big moments, as you're saying, the World Cup help us.

And then we have to turn the attention domestically to make sure that we're supporting our local leagues. And if we do that, then I think the recipe for our women and their men to be successful is there. Mark Cohen, it was a pleasure. Thank you for this. Yeah, great catching with you. Thanks, Rebecca. Mark Cohen is the board chair of the Northern Super League. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. CBC Podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.