They’ve got football fever in Ontario, and this one has nothing to do with the Toronto Argonauts or Hamilton Tiger Cats.
With the World Cup playing down its final days with its semi finals today and tomorrow, they’re daring to dream the big dreams in Toronto.
Plans and funding were finalized today, and construction has started for a 20,000 seat soccer stadium at the old CNE Stadium site, a football palace that will be home to a new franchise for the MLS and one day maybe host a strong Canadian squad making its bid to play on the biggest stage, the World Cup.
Canada has an interesting history with the game, but yet only one appearance in the World’s biggest football show a 1986 trip to Mexico, a puzzling statistic for a nation so full of immigrants and one you would just assume would be a foundry for football. Perhaps that old saying about hockey fans and California could be true for soccer in Canada; we’ve attracted millions of ex-patriots to our land, all united in a dislike for the sport.
But judging by the large number of Italian, Portuguese, French, English and German flags that have popped up in the last two weeks, that’s probably not true. In fact, with Italy through to the finals, it's guaranteed that Toronto and all cities small and large across the land, will be soccer mad on Sunday morning as the Italians take on either Portugal or France.
Canadians are not strangers to the World Cup or the soccer world for that matter (the linesman in Tuesday's Italia-Germany match was a Canuck!) we're just not frequent visitors or large in numbers, but perhaps that is about to change for the better. Canada hosts the world Under 20 championships next year in Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton. A chance to see the best young soccer players in the world on our turf.
In fact one our nation’s most promising footballers is already on the world stage all be it with another nation, Owen Hargreaves, donned the jersey of England for his International football career, leaving his Calgary roots far behind as he plies his trade in the football stadiums of the Bundesliga.
It’s hoped that with a dedicated soccer stadium in Toronto (and other soccer palaces planned elsewhere, hello there Yaletown dwellers!!) that Canadian soccer will soon be producing home grown stars and International heroes.
With Toronto and Vancouver building their soccer palaces, it probably won't be long before other large Canadian centres look for a soccer boost. Toronto is to join the MSL loop in 2007 and one has to think that Vancouver won't be too far behind in seeking an entry into the MSL. With a strong professional league in North America once again, perhaps the game will finally not only build on its strong roots but propel Canada back onto the world stage.
In Toronto, it’s a case of if they build we shall come and hopefully conquer the soccer world!
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