After the Homecoming: What Did the World Cup Mean for Soccer in Canada?

On Saturday night, the sun set over BMO Field as Canada's men played at home for the first time since the World Cup. They beat Chile 1-0 in what was billed as the homecoming match.

It felt like a fitting end to the summer. Bell Media reported that 30.5 million Canadians, 75% of the population, watched live coverage of the World Cup (Bell Media). Two months on, the question is what all that attention changed.

One week after the Final, SponsorPulse and IMI International surveyed more than 1,000 Canadian adults to find out. Here's what stood out.

A bigger opportunity for soccer fandom

• 53% said they were more passionate about soccer than they were three months earlier

• 46% said they were likely to keep following soccer after the tournament

Keeping those fans depends on what they're offered between major tournaments: domestic league seasons, international windows and the players they already follow.

Players connect fans between tournaments

18% of Canadians followed a player on social media during the World Cup, and 18% followed a national team. Those connections carry on through club seasons and international windows.

Cyle Larin is a good example. He scored Canada's first goal of the tournament, in Toronto. On Sunday, back home for this international window, he received the Key to the City in Brampton, where he started playing (Southampton FC). It's a direct line from a World Cup moment to a local community.

Soccer brought people together

11% of Canadians reconnected with friends or family they hadn't seen in over a year because of the tournament, and 7% made new friends. 8% signed themselves or their kids up to play.

It's too early to call a participation boom. But it points to real appetite for soccer as a shared, community experience, and a chance for clubs and leagues to create more of those moments.

Two huge years for the women's game

27% of Canadians said they were more likely to watch the FIFA Women's World Cup because of this summer, the highest of any competition we asked about. 23% said the same about Olympic soccer.

With the Women's World Cup in Brazil next summer and the LA 2028 Olympics after that, the next two years will be huge for Canada's women's national team. The Northern Super League gives fans a way to follow Canadian players every week in the lead-up.

What does it mean for brands?

Canadian soccer is a complex market, and it sits within an equally complex global landscape. The NSL is in its second season, the Canadian Premier League is growing after adding FC Supra du Québec this season, Major League Soccer moves to a summer-to-spring calendar in 2027, and the national teams play five matches in this international window alone.

Three things stand out from our data:

• Commit for the long term. Many brands came into Canadian soccer for the World Cup. The ones that stay keep the connection they've built with fans. Our research shows sponsorships typically take three years to hit their stride: sponsor awareness grows from 42% in year one to 58% by year three, and the cost to drive consideration falls by more than a third.

• Stay visible between tournaments. Players, domestic leagues and international windows keep fans engaged year-round.

• Invest in community. Watch parties, grassroots programs and local events turn interest into participation. Our research shows experiences that involve fans typically deliver three to six times the impact of passive exposure.

Let's talk

If you're a brand working out where to play in Canadian soccer, I'm happy to walk you through what our data shows, and where Canadian soccer fits in the global landscape. Book time with Scott Lidbury or connect on LinkedIn.

Source: FIFA World Cup 2026 Consumer Impact Study by IMI International and SponsorPulse. Survey of 1,003 Canadian adults aged 18 to 70, completed July 2026.