In total, 7.6 million people in Canada are immigrants. It makes up around 20% of the country’s total population, so one in five Canadian residents comes from other countries, among which India, China, the Philippines, Nigeria stand out, in its top 10 (according to Statista). Eritrea.
These figures make Canada the eighth country in the world with the highest number of immigrants and on the American continent, it is surpassed only by the United States (48.2 million). What appears to be a simple statistical question is in fact a factor that is changing the sporting and cultural history of Canada, particularly in soccer fields.
“Being a multicultural country, with more and more immigrants from all over the world and football being the most popular sport in the world, has brought in families with children who pass on their passion for football and seek to introduce themselves to the opportunities to play. Esto beneficia bastante a Canadá porque se está recopilando el DNA de todas partes del mundo y lo está haciendo propio, es un fenómeno social muy interesante ”, describe to El Economista, Alex Mejía, Máster en Negocios y Administración del Futbol que lleva tres años radicando in Canada.
The talents of the world are reflected in the ranks of his men’s team: Alphonso Davies, his highest figure, was born in Ghana and until the age of 17 had Liberian nationality through his parents, but at that time he was recognized as Canadian for wearing over a decade living in Edmonton. In the summer of 2020 alone, he became the first Canadian footballer to win the Champions League with Bayern Munich.
Other similar cases are Sam Adekugbe, born in London to Nigerian parents; Jonathan Osorio, born in Toronto of Colombian parents; Atiba Hutchinson, born in Brampton to Trinidadian parents; as well as Cyle Larin and Lucas Cavallini, also born in Toronto and of Jamaican and Argentinian descent, respectively. They are all part of the current squad to face Mexico, Jamaica and Panama on the FIFA October date.
“Canada is a huge and very soccer-focused country because of the immigrants who arrived, Africans, Europeans and Latinos who helped foster the roots of Canadian soccer (…) In addition, Canada has invested millions of dollars in restructuring children’s football to the senior national team and every province that is linked to the Canadian football association has its money managed to seek out talent, ”commentator Roger Grinolds added to this newspaper. sportsman in Canada.
Con el desarrollo de estos y otros jugadores, Canadá busca clasificar a su segundo Mundial masculino, ya que solo lo hicieron en México 1986. Aunque between finals de los 90 y principios de los 2000 tuvieron una generación talentosa con elementos como Craig Forrest, Jason De Vos y Paul Stalteri, la camada actual con Davies en el Bayern, Larin en el Besiktas (Turquía) y Jonathan David en el Lille (campeón de Francia) es una de las razones por las que más aficionados se están decantando por el futbol en ese Country.
“Canada was in a rut for decades due to the lack of different aspects: talents, structures, clubs, opportunities, fans, interest from TV stations and sponsors, but what is happening now is due to different factors: a, that there is already a professional League that he is in his third year and has aroused national and international interest; secondly, that the men’s team finally have a competitive team with players from important teams in Europe; third, interest has increased because the country is going to host the 2026 World Cup; and four, for the achievements of the women’s team, at the Olympic Games, winning bronze in London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as a gold medal in Tokyo 2020, ”said Mejía, who was also a volunteer at the Cup. of the Confederations 2013 and the 2018 World Cup.
The current generation of men has already made history by qualifying for the last round of the Concacaf qualifiers, which they have not achieved since the Hexagonal 1998 in France; On their way to Qatar 2022, they are ranked as the second best octagonal team after three games, with five points and only passed by Mexico (7).
“Everything is happening at the same time, with this new generation not only of players and teams, but also of fans, different from 20 or 30 years ago. It is also due to modern, digital and globalized football. It’s easier to reach fans on social media, content on pages, and athletes on their accounts. “
The sports affairs expert describes that all regions of Canada have increased their number of footballers to contribute to teams in various categories, highlighting regions such as Ontario, Vancouver and Edmonton. According to a Sports Zion survey, football is already the sixth most watched sport in the country, ahead of rugby or basketball, and with the highest participation rate with more than 2.6 million inhabitants. practice, according to FIFA figures.
Remodeling of infrastructure, programs and leagues
The landscape of soccer in Canada began to change between 2007 and 2010, explains Mejía, thanks to the foray of his first clubs into MLS, the highest division in the United States. Since then, Toronto FC, CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps have participated, the first being the only ones to have been champions (2017) and also the first representatives of the country to a Concachampions final (finalists in 2018).
Development accelerated in 2019 with the creation of the Canadian Premier League, with 10 teams in which each of the owners invested around $ 50 million, as documented by Forbes in 2018. In this league compete, for example, the ‘Atlético Ottawa, owned by Atlético de Madrid; Forge FC by Robert Young, Founder of Red Hat Inc; or York United, owned by Greenpark Group, with Italian investments.
The company Media Pro owns the broadcasting rights for the Canadian Prime Minister and this has also allowed greater visibility for soccer, in addition to the development of children and adolescents in private academies.
“In the 90s, the matches of the Canadian team were broadcast on a sports channel, focusing on baseball. With the evolution of the internet and other applications where people can watch streams, more and more sports channels have sprung up in Canada and they now broadcast national team games live and with rehearsals. at night, ”Grinolds explains.
“The goal of Canadian football is to have a presence in all tournaments where it can participate in both national teams and clubs, a greater presence in youth tournaments so that clubs in Europe detect talent. The goal is to have a higher performing presence and compete with a mindset and approach against the best in the world, not just to participate. Canada has learned to identify its strengths and weaknesses and, on this basis, it has been able to build itself little by little to reach where it is now and to arouse interest in its people, ”concludes Alex Mejía.
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