After the Whistle - Vancouver as a World Cup Host City

VANCOUVER - I will challenge you to a duel if you think that Vancouver wasn't (one of) the best World Cup host cities.

This will absolutely be a biased opinion, but honestly, how can you disagree?

Vancouver was named as one of the 16 2026 World Cup host cities. Vancouver has a history of hosting world class sporting events, such as the 2010 Winter Olympics (where were you for Sidney Crosby's Golden Goal? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofDvet0KUkU), as well as the 2019 World Juniors, and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

There was an expectation that being one of two Canadian host cities, that the soccer capital of Canada would put on a show. At the final whistle, you cannot argue that anywhere else got more social coverage, attention, or praise from players, and should absolutely cement itself as one of the premier places to play soccer in Canada, but also in North America.

Maybe our local media coverage is limited, but nowhere else did I see another city get the attention that Vancouver did. Our oversized soccer ball popped up on so many social feeds and pages and was a huge novelty draw for visiting spectators and fans. Due to massive amount of support, Science World (the thing the ball is built on) announced that the installation will remain in place until September 7th.

Fan marches would happen as early as 9am, with fans taking time out of their mid week work shifts to march to BC Place stadium, down Granville street, and more.

The social buzz around the city was incredible.

One of my personal highlights has to be Kevin De Bruyne's comments about playing within BC Place, the atmosphere of the fans, and his experience in the city. He (as well as Romelu Lukaku) play for SSC Napoli. Think about that for a moment, like, really soak in what that means for a city like Vancouver.

I lived in Naples for 3 years. I've been to that stadium. We had to be there an hour early, and were held an hour after the match finished for "security reasons" (rowdy Napoli fans were a "security" risk for a group of foreigners). Opposing fans were held in a small section of the stadium walled by 12ft of plexiglass. The atmosphere and cultural impact that soccer club has on the city is absolutely immeasurable, and yet you have players raving about being in Vancouver. I have a hard time understanding how that comparison can be even made. To me, going to a game in Napoli should be considered a pilgrimage. You simply must do it. To think that on ANY level, Vancouver could ever be in the same conversation is absolutely insane to me. And KDB wasn't the only one raving about Vancouver.

Mo Salah and the Egyptian National Team were seen dancing on Granville Street surrounded by fans after their win against New Zealand (https://youtu.be/ohtciwOoemE), late in the evening. I have not heard of any other team coming out of a match and immediately immersing themselves in fan culture. Most teams are so tight on security that being out late, in the streets with fans just wouldn't be possible. And yet the effort was made.

All visiting teams had enough of a fan base to hold fan marches. Australia, Turkye, New Zealand, Switzerland, Qatar, Egypt, Belgium, all had good fan representation throughout their stays here. Some Swiss fans were lucky to spend nearly two weeks in the city and all had rave reviews.

On our own national side of things, in addition to the numerous fan experience zones, our broadcaster, TSN Sports, put up an incredible telecast set in Jack Poole Plaza, and the on TV broadcast looked incredible with the North Shore mountains in the background, the Harbour Air Seaplanes coming and going, as well as the cruise ships and BC Transit Seabuses that would make regular appearances in the background.

Did Canada get the job done? On pitch some would say no, however I'd remind you that both other host nations exited in the same round, and without the same... embarrassment... but off pitch, Canada proved once and for all the Vancouver is the absolute soccer capital of Canada. There is no better place to be than the West Coast.

Rating: 10

No notes. Well done Canada 🇨🇦.

And as always.. #savethecaps https://savethecaps.com/