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Massive new FIFA World Cup monument coming to Toronto's City Hall

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
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Jun 11 2025, 3:39 pm
Massive new FIFA World Cup monument coming to Toronto's City Hall
FIFA World Cup

Toronto is now a little over one year out from hosting its first matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and there’s set to be a new monument at City Hall to document it.

On Thursday, the City of Toronto will unveil a countdown clock at Nathan Phillips Square for next year’s tournament, with the first Canadian match ever on home soil set for June 12, 2026.

Mayor Olivia Chow will also be proclaiming June 12 as “Soccer Day in Toronto” as part of the festivities.

“The day recognizes Toronto’s passion for the beautiful game and celebrates the city’s role as an official host city for FIFA World Cup 2026,” a release announcing the news reads.

Canada’s men’s team is coming off its first trophy in 25 years, albeit a bit smaller than their Gold Cup victory in 2000. Over the course of two matches at BMO Field, Canada beat Ukraine 4-2 and lost to the Ivory Coast 1-0 in a shootout, with the results good enough to give the hosts victory in the inaugural four-team Canadian Shield tournament that also included New Zealand.

“I think that we’re better prepared for what World Cup games can look like by playing these two opponents and by this little window here in June,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch told the media following the tournament. “I do think this team deserves the Canadian community’s attention, right? I think they’re showing that it’s a good team. There’s a lot of good players here. There’s a lot of entertaining players.”

Canada now heads off to Vancouver for its first and only home match in this year’s edition of the Gold Cup, with BC Place hosting the team next Tuesday in a match against Honduras. They’ll then travel to Houston for matches against Honduras and Curacao, with the top two teams in the group moving on to the eight-team knockout stage.

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