Soccer2015: The case for Canada

Beginning of Story Content

The bid is in. The wait will not be long. Early next month FIFA's top brass will make a decision, which will directly affect the growth of Canadian soccer. For the good of the game it is imperative the Women's World Cup comes to Canada in 2015.
 
It is a no brainer. It is a two horse race in theory alone. Canada takes women's soccer seriously and has a successful history of hosting FIFA events. It has government support to the tune of $15 million and an infrastructure in place to support the bid.
 
Canada's only competitor is Zimbabwe. Except that it's not really a competition at all. Zimbabwe has been ruled with an iron fist by Robert Mugabe for 30 years. It is a country whose economy has suffered rampant inflation and where the average citizen earns around $5 US a day.
 
Who in their right mind would vote for a country that has shut itself off from the outside world? Perhaps the same group of people who took a huge gamble by giving the 2010 World Cup to neighbouring South Africa and the 2022 tournament to Qatar?
 
We may scoff, yet Zimbabwe is on the international soccer map. No less a team than Brazil played a pre-World Cup friendly against Zimbabwe last year in front of a sell-out crowd of 60-thousand in Harare. The Brazilians last set foot on Canadian soil in 1994.
 
FIFA has made it clear it wants to spread the gospel. The time is now for the emerging soccer nations or so it appears. Canada, itself, can still be regarded as such in global terms, but when compared to Zimbabwe it is a world power - particularly in the women's game.
 
So before we start celebrating victory for Canada 2015, perhaps we should keep those flags under wraps a little while longer. It would be a massive shock if Canada didn't win, but in the light of recent announcements from FIFA House, nothing can be taken for granted.
 
However, let's be positive. Let's assume the Canadian Soccer Association's bid has been well prepared and well received. More importantly let's assume FIFA knows Canada represents a safe pair of hands and can forecast a profit when it comes to hosting tournaments.
 
The U.S. has twice staged the Women's World Cup. The success of the American women's team has attracted a bedrock of support. In a similar way Canadian soccer fans are prepared to back the women's program, believing it can provide that winning feeling.
 
There is tacit acceptance that the women's game matters. North American attitudes represent a cultural shift from the traditional European bias where female soccer, in the main, remains marginalized and dwarfed by the popularity of the men's game. 
 
Canada will embrace the Women's World Cup for what is. I believe there will be a genuine feeling of pride in hosting a global event in the same way this country has welcomed both the Summer and Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games
 
What matters here, regardless of gender, is the popularity of the sport itself. Its importance is governed, in large part, by the media. We all know there are more registered soccer than hockey players in Canada, but we also know where most sports broadcasters spend their money.
 
It is a form of brainwashing. If mainstream media tells us often enough that something is important enough, eventually we're prepared to believe it to be so. The oxygen of publicity produces a perception of an event's relative significance.
 
The profile of Canadian soccer is poised to peak this summer. As the women's team competes on the world stage, a second Canadian team joins Major League Soccer. Vancouver's elevation is just as important as a successful campaign in Germany.
 
The year 2011 could become a huge launching pad for soccer in Canada. A green light from FIFA will map a path for players and fans to follow. It will mean hosting not only the 2015 Women's World Cup but also the U-20 version of the tournament a year beforehand.
 
It will force investment in stadium upgrades across the country. It will force media outlets to plan a strategy and embrace soccer seriously. It will wake up corporate Canada to the advantages of jumping on and clinging to football's bandwagon.
 
In the meantime we're waiting to welcome Montreal to MLS. The Impact has ably demonstrated its pulling power in recent years and the addition of a third Canadian club to the top tier only adds to the competition's credibility and the franchises' natural rivalry.
 
The rolling stone of Canadian soccer continues to gather moss. Club loyalty and national patriotism is built over time, but it grows a heck of a lot quicker when there's something to be proud of. In 2011 we can be proud of Canada's team.

Imagine what it could be like in four years time.

End of Story Content