Canada Soccer’s reputation took it on the chin recently after a pay dispute involving the sport’s national governing body and the men’s team went public.
That led to the cancellation of a friendly vs. Panama in Vancouver, thus hampering the side’s crucial preparations for this November’s World Cup in Qatar. It also led to more questions being asked about the competency of those in charge of the governance of Canadian soccer.
After the debacle played out in the national media, the sport in this country badly needed some good news.
FIFA came to the rescue Thursday during a press event in New York City where it announced the host cities for the 2026 World Cup that will be held in Canada, the United States and Mexico: Toronto and Vancouver are among the 16 locations that will stage games for the biggest sporting event on the planet in four years’ time, giving Canadian soccer a shot in the arm.
But spare a thought for the city of Edmonton, which at one point seemed a shoo-in to be named one of the Canadian hosts for 2026. Instead, it didn’t make the cut. This will be a bitter pill to swallow for the city and its legions of soccer fans, including hometown hero Alphonso Davies. Edmonton has a rich history of supporting the sport, so Thursday’s announcement on some levels must feel like a betrayal.
Commonwealth Stadium hosted matches during the Canadian men’s team’s recent World Cup qualifying campaign, drawing attendances of 48,806 and 44,212 for wins over Costa Rica and Mexico last November. The Alberta capital was a key host city during the 2015 Women’s World Cup when it staged two of Canada’s group stage matches, a pair of round-of-16 contests, a quarterfinal, a semifinal and the third-place game.
Edmonton also has a long tradition of staging Canadian friendlies — the Reds famously battled Brazil to a 1-1 draw in a 1994 game before 51,936 spectators — and Commonwealth Stadium was where a teenaged Christine Sinclair first broke out as an international star and announced herself to the world during the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup.
So, what happened? Why has Edmonton been left out in the cold for the 2026 World Cup?
In soccer parlance, the goal posts moved on Edmonton last August when Montreal dropped out of the bidding process after the Quebec provincial government withdrew its support over concerns about cost overruns. Then in April, Vancouver threw its hat into the ring after it originally bid in 2017 to host games, only to withdraw the following year when B.C. Premier John Horgan cited the unknown costs of bringing the World Cup to his province.
B.C. native and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is one of the most powerful men in world soccer, and he had a hand in bringing his home province back to the table. Edmonton-based soccer journalist Steve Sandor argues that when that happened, it was essentially game over for the Alberta capital.
“When you hear that Montagliani had personally gone back to Vancouver and dragged them back into the bidding process, that was the writing on the wall for Edmonton. It was sort of like, you’re a starting player, but now the coach is warming up a substitute to replace you,” Sandor told Sportsnet.
“There isn’t any bitterness from people in Edmonton directed at Vancouver; there’s bitterness at the process of how Vancouver was brought back in after they backed out. You don’t blame the sub who comes off the bench to take your spot, but you can be angry at the coach for making that change.”
With rumours swirling about Vancouver wanting back in, the Alberta provincial government took bold action in March when it committed $110 million in public money to the city of Edmonton to help cover the cost of hosting games in 2026. However, the funding was contingent on Edmonton getting to host five of the 10 games that will take place in Canada in 2026, including two matches in the knockout round.
That proved to be a miscalculation that hurt Edmonton’s bid. FIFA is like the mafia — it isn’t used to having cities make demands of it like that. You don’t hold them up at knife point and try to dictate terms to them, which is essentially what the Alberta government did. The fact that the financial support from the province came with strings attached hurt Edmonton’s chances, even though it won political points.
“People have to understand that outside of the soccer community, that move by the provincial government played really well here. People wanted a guarantee from FIFA with so much public money at stake, so that really hit home within the community,” Sandor explained.
The current condition of Commonwealth Stadium probably didn’t help Edmonton’s cause, either. It’s an aging stadium that has seen better days and would need to undergo costly upgrades in order to modernize it and bring it up to FIFA’s standards, beyond just replacing the artificial surface with a natural grass pitch.
“Edmontonians have a real sense of inflated pride over Commonwealth Stadium. It’s hosted a lot of big games and events, but we’re looking back at them now through technicolour glasses. Compared to modern-day venues, Commonwealth looks like an old Communist stadium from the Cold War era. It’s a concrete monolith without the creature comforts that most new stadiums have today,” Sandor said.
“It was a really great stadium when it opened [in 1978], but some of these new stadiums in the U.S. that are getting World Cup games make Commonwealth look like a venue out of the Stone Age. I think we need a bit of a reality check about that here in Edmonton. We have a vaunted sense of pride about it, but we have to understand that time has passed the stadium by.”
Sandor watched Thursday’s FIFA event from New York City with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and other local city officials at Commonwealth Stadium, and described the atmosphere before the announcement was made as “strangely optimistic.”
“There were a lot of people in the room, despite all the recent headlines and reports that Edmonton was going to get shut out, that still believed. There was still this hope, and people politely applauded when Vancouver was announced, but then when Edmonton didn’t get called, the reality set in. There were some tears and lots of long faces,” Sandor said.
“It was like if your team was down 3-1 late in the game, and you have this faint hope that if you can score one that maybe you can get another, and then the inevitable happens and you give up a fourth goal. That’s what it was like in the room.”
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.
The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.
The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.
Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.
The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.
Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.
Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.
Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.
RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.
Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.
The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.
“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”
But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.
The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.
