Two-thirds of Canadians support hosting 2038 FIFA World Cup in Canada: survey | Daily Hive

Two-thirds of Canadians support another FIFA World Cup held in Canada in 2038: survey

BC Place Stadium on July 7, after hosting Canada's last 2026 FIFA World Cup match between Switzerland and Colombia. (Kenneth Chan)

Canada’s successful experience as a co-host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has generated broad public support for the country to take part in hosting the tournament again in 2038, according to the findings of a new survey by Vancouver-based polling company Research Co.

The survey found 67 per cent of Canadians believe the country should help host the 2038 men’s tournament, which the survey described as being expected to take place in North America.

This includes 30 per cent who would support using the same two Canadian host cities from 2026 — Vancouver and Toronto — and 37 per cent who would like more Canadian cities added to the hosting lineup.

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Only 14 per cent of respondents said Canada should not host matches in 2038, while 19 per cent were undecided.

Although FIFA has not selected a host or formally launched the bidding process for the 2038 FIFA World Cup, North America is considered a plausible contender in just 12 years from now. Prior to 2026, the last FIFA World Cup tournaments held in North America were staged by the United States in 1994 and Mexico in 1986 and 1970.

Under the confederation-rotation approach FIFA used for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, a bid from the Concacaf region would be eligible, as would one from Oceania. Europe, Africa and South America would generally be excluded from bidding for 2038 because the 2030 tournament will be staged across UEFA, CAF, and CONMEBOL nations: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Asian countries would also be expected to be ineligible because Saudi Arabia, a member of the Asian Football Confederation, will host the 2034 tournament.

Recent reporting has also suggested FIFA is encouraging another U.S.-led bid, although no North American or Canadian proposal has been formally announced. U.S. president Donald Trump has also reportedly indicated his interest in having his country host in 2038, but without the involvement of Canada and Mexico.

Along with the expansion of the tournament’s format to 48 teams — which greatly increased the number of matches, host cities, and overall duration of the event — the U.S. involvement as a host country also significantly contributed to FIFA’s projected windfall for the organization’s four-year, 2023-2026 cycle. This is driven by factors such as the use of existing large, high-capacity U.S. stadiums with significant hospitality facilities, as well as the strong American sponsorship and broadcast rights market.

FIFA is expected to end this fiscal cycle with a historic record of US$15 billion in revenues from the 2026 tournament, which is substantially more than its estimates before the tournament and from what it saw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

As a result of this combination of factors, the expanded 2026 tournament involving 16 host cities and 104 matches saw a cumulative record match attendance of over 6.8 million spectators — up from 3.4 million in 2022, three million in 2018 Russia, 3.4 million in 2014 Brazil, and 3.2 million in 2010 South Africa.

science world fifa world cup vancouver adidas trionda soccer ball canada march june 18 2026

Canadian fans march to BC Place Stadium, with the route backdropped by Science World’s transformation into the adidas Trionda match soccer ball of the FIFA World Cup, as seen on June 18, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

According to the Research Co. survey, support in Canada for hosting the tournament again in 2038 was highest among Canadians aged 18 to 34 and South Asian respondents, with 75 per cent of each group backing Canadian involvement. There were also support levels of 68 per cent among East Asians and 63 per cent among people of European descent.

It stood at 69 per cent among Ontario residents, 67 per cent among Alberta residents, and 66 per cent among British Columbia residents.

Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba were particularly interested in expanding the number of Canadian host cities, with 44 per cent selecting that option. This was followed by 43 per cent in Quebec and 42 per cent in Alberta.

Among self-described “big” soccer fans, 93 per cent supported Canada hosting matches again, including 57 per cent who favoured returning to Vancouver and Toronto and 36 per cent who wanted additional cities involved.

For the 2026 tournament, while the U.S. hosted the lion’s share and most high-profile knockout matches, Canada and Mexico were each assigned 13 matches. Vancouver and Toronto hosted seven and six matches, respectively, with BC Place Stadium hosting one additional knockout match (Round of 16), while Mexico’s matches were split among three cities, resulting in fewer matches for each Mexican host city.

Mexico City hosted five matches, including the tournament’s opening match and two knockout matches, while the smaller stadiums in Guadalajara and Monterrey each hosted four matches — the fewest of any host city.

Among the 16 stadiums used across North America, BC Place Stadium had the fourth-smallest capacity in tournament mode. Even so, Vancouver joined Houston, Miami, and Boston in hosting seven matches — despite all three having larger stadiums and being part of metropolitan areas with significantly larger populations.

Only four host markets were assigned more matches. Dallas received nine, while Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York/New Jersey were assigned eight. Vancouver ultimately staged more matches than Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Kansas City, Toronto, Philadelphia, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

Vancouver’s final match, the Round of 16 between Switzerland and Colombia on July 7, was the ninth-to-last match in the entire 104-match tournament, at which point eight other host cities had already finished their match-hosting duties.

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BC Place Stadium’s FIFA World Cup match between Switzerland and Algeria on July 2, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

For the 2026 tournament, Edmonton and its venue of Commonwealth Stadium lost its bid to become a host city in 2022 — against Vancouver and Toronto. Montreal dropped out of the race in 2021 for a combination of reasons, including FIFA’s restrictions on other major events held at around the same time (including the annual Formula 1 race) and the fact that the aging Montreal Olympic Stadium would not be in a physical condition suitable to host one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

However, the drastic renovations now underway to provide Montreal Olympic Stadium with a new roof and a major modernization revamp of its interior features would certainly technically make it a strong host city candidate in 2038.

Canada was previously the sole host country for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which is a substantially smaller event by design. That event is highly regarded as a success, with 52 matches played over 29 days, six Canadian host cities, and a cumulative match attendance of 1.35 million spectators.

The 2015 venues were Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, Montreal Olympic Stadium, Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium, Ottawa’s TD Place Stadium, and Moncton’s Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium. BC Place Stadium had the most central role of that women’s tournament, hosting nine matches including the championship final between the U.S. and Japan. Toronto was not involved as it was preoccupied with hosting the 2015 Pan American Games.

For the men’s tournament, FIFA requires stadiums to have a bare minimum capacity of 40,000 seats, which typically enables the hosting of only the group stage matches.

For years leading up to and after the 2015 women’s tournament, Canada Soccer had expressed an interest in vying for the men’s tournament in 2026, given the anticipated continental rotation rules. At the time, there were some reports of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico each contemplating an individual bid, but all three countries came together with an untied North American bid of three host countries in 2017, with FIFA ultimately deciding in 2018 to choose this united bid over Morocco by a landslide.

BC Place Stadium in Vancouver during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. (BC Place Stadium)

Support for hosting the FIFA World Cup again in 2038 was also recorded among 85 per cent of moderate Canadian soccer fans and 65 per cent of casual soccer fans. Even among respondents who said they were not soccer fans at all, 40 per cent supported Canada participating in the 2038 tournament, while 24 per cent were opposed and 36 per cent were unsure.

The survey suggests the 2026 tournament also significantly expanded soccer’s audience in Canada.

Just over one-in-five respondents (21 per cent) described themselves as soccer fans who truly enjoy watching the game. That represents a six per cent increase from a similar survey conducted by the company during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Another 20 per cent said they watch soccer as much as possible without following it all the time, up three points, while 28 per cent said they occasionally watch matches even though soccer is not their favourite sport.

The proportion of Canadians who said they do not really care for soccer fell from 41 per cent in December 2022 to 32 per cent in the latest survey.

Soccer fandom was strongest among respondents aged 18 to 34. Within that age group, 28 per cent described themselves as devoted fans and 25 per cent said they watch as much soccer as possible. Only 21 per cent said they do not care for the sport.

By comparison, 43 per cent of respondents aged 55 and older said they do not care for soccer, while 10 per cent identified as devoted fans.

B.C. residents showed comparatively high levels of engagement, with 20 per cent identifying as dedicated soccer fans and another 28 per cent indicating they watch as much soccer as possible. The 48 per cent combined figure was higher than the national total of 41 per cent for those two categories.

The survey also found the national team’s performance created a significant increase in interest.

More than one-third of Canadians (35 per cent) said they were more interested in the men’s national team following its historic participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, reaching the Round of 16 knockout match. That figure increased to 46 per cent among respondents aged 18 to 34, 42 per cent among British Columbians, 40 per cent among men, and 48 per cent among South Asian respondents.

Another 46 per cent said their interest in the national team was unchanged, while only six per cent said they had become less interested. The remaining 13 per cent were unsure.

Building on the momentum of the tournament’s success, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced today the federal government will set aside $1 billion to build new and improved sports infrastructure across the country. This includes upgrading stadiums, community fields, and local parks.

Jun 28, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Canada defender Alistair Johnston (2) and midfielder Stephen Eustáquio (7) react after victory over South Africa during a Round of 32 match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Los Angeles Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

More than half of Canadians (51 per cent) said they followed the tournament either “very closely” or “moderately closely,” an increase of 13 per cent compared to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The figure reached 59 per cent among Canadians aged 18 to 34, 56 per cent among men, and 55 per cent among residents in both B.C. and Ontario.

Viewership also increased for Canada’s matches. Research Co. found 43 per cent of Canadians watched all or part of the game against South Africa, while 40 per cent watched at least some of the matches against Qatar and Switzerland. The corresponding figure for the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina was 36 per cent.

This also aligns with Bell Media’s reporting today of its viewership figures as Canada’s official broadcaster, with a record-breaking 30.5 million unique Canadian viewers tuning into the live tournament coverage across Bell platforms including TSN and CTV. That makes up roughly 75 per cent of Canada’s entire population.

The survey was conducted from June 29 to July 1, 2026, among 1,001 Canadian adults. Its results were statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

In a separate Research Co. survey conducted at around the same time of Metro Vancouver residents only, 79 per cent of the region’s residents believe the tournament will have a mostly positive impact on Canada, while 72 per cent say the same for both B.C. and Vancouver. As well, 63 per cent of respondents wanted to keep the Granville Entertainment District as a vehicle-free area, following the success of the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone during the FIFA World Cup.

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