"VAN" (Sports Desk - 04.07.2026) :: On a sunny Sunday afternoon in suburban Burnaby, the Swangard was filling quickly.
That the home stadium of the Northern Super League's Vancouver Rise was drawing a big crowd wouldn’t usually be noteworthy, but on this particular weekend it was. For just an hour earlier, Canada had been in action in the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup™ for the very first time.
With that match against South Africa taking place in Los Angeles, some 2,000 kilometres to the south, there were watch parties all across a nation that has been swept up in either renewed or new-found love for football.
Waiting to speak with FIFA before the Rise, part of the newly-formed professional women’s league, hosted AFC Toronto was Stephanie Labbe. One of her nation’s finest servants, she now serves as the club’s sporting director.
Part of Canada’s gold-medal winning team at the Tokyo 2020 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, as well as of the side that hosted the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup™, Labbe has had a front-row view to the growth of Canadian football.
What she has seen over the past month in her homeland, has her convinced that growth is about to be turbo-charged.
“I think things really started back in 2002 when the U-19 Women's World Cup here in Canada inspired people. Then the 2003 Women's World Cup, and the Olympics have really continued to boost things on the women's side," she said.
“Now, with the men, what we are seeing is that the more you have this success at the top level, the more it inspires the grassroots. The key to continued success is inspiring those grassroots players to want to stay in the game and continue playing.
“What the team is doing is creating a lasting legacy for sure. I think, number one, they are inspiring young kids right now that are going to be on the national team in 15 years to come. It's also about getting fans more excited about it, maybe searching for that local team that they want to go out and support.
“A lot of Vancouverites now who maybe this was their first exposure to the game, got super excited, got drawn in. And now they're going to start looking at, 'OK, where can I watch locally? Where can I keep this excitement up?' And so I think it's really exciting for everybody in and around the game.”
One of those young players who was inspired by generations past is current U-20 international Chloe Taylor. Captain of the Canada U-17 side that reached the quarter-finals of last year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™, she told FIFA that all strands of the game will benefit from the success the men are having.
“The whole atmosphere in Canada has just been electric. I think everyone knows the rise of women's soccer, but with the World Cup around, it just elevates it even more.
“Over the last few years, people talk about soccer more and I think that's something that didn't necessarily happen maybe 10 years ago. With the World Cup here, it allows that to be more relevant and I think it can help the women's game as well.”
When the Northern Super League was launched last year, the Rise recruited former Danish international Anja Heiner-Moller as their inaugural head coach. Having promptly led the club to the title in their first season, she has also been blown away by what the World Cup is doing to the perception of football in Canada.
“I think having the professional women’s league being launched last year has had a huge impact for boys and girls just coming out here and watching games. Now, with the World Cup, and I’ve been to a few of the games, I already notice more people talking about the game," she said.
“We’ve seen people coming to the stadium and just getting the love for soccer, but also in the streets of downtown Vancouver, with all the watch parties all over the city so it’s just such a huge boost to the game.”
They are thoughts echoed by former Australia youth international Tori Tumeth. The 25-year-old is currently serving as captain of the Rise and has seen first-hand, the kind of impact the World Cup is having on Vancouver.
“I live downtown, really close to BC Place, so it's been so exciting. You can only dream of going to or playing in a World Cup, so having that excitement has been something that I've never experienced before," she said.
“It’s not just with Canada but also all the different nationalities that live in the city. With our matches, we have seen Colombian jerseys in the crowd today supporting our Colombian players (U-20 international Maithe Lopez and former U-17 international Camila Reyes). I was lucky enough to have a few people from Australia supporting me when the Socceroos played here earlier on, so it's been really awesome.
“With the World Cup being here, you can see it's the biggest sporting event in the world, and it's just great for the game. Now we have the Women's World Cup coming up next year, so it’s such an exciting time for the game in Canada.”
The final word goes to the man who has played a key part in establishing and re-kindling this nation-wide football affair and that’s the men’s national coach Jesse Marsch.
“Since I've come, it's not just been about how good can we make the men's national first team, it's been about how can we develop the sport in the country. We knew with the home World Cup that we could build real momentum and get people excited and create a movement," he said.
“We know that we can really build a future for the sport, but nothing does that better than moments, right? In the meantime, I knew that I had to help this team be successful in this World Cup, and certainly, for me, these players are now Canadian heroes.”
Cr-FIFA2026
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