Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has announced the country’s largest-ever investment in sports.
The government said it will commit C$1 billion to improve sports infrastructure, which will be the largest investment of its kind in Canadian history.
Daily Hive said the money will go toward upgrading stadiums, community fields and local parks, giving young athletes better facilities and resources to develop.
Carney reaffirmed the government’s commitment to Canadian sport, which includes investing $1 billion into Canadian grassroots sports and infrastructure at all levels.
That includes $9.8 million for Canada Soccer’s National Soccer Training Centre project, which is in the planning stages.
Carney said in a statement the goal is to help more Canadians progress from local playgrounds to the national team.
Carney said, “While today marks the end of the World Cup, it marks the start of a new chapter in Canadian soccer and in Canadian sport.
“To build on this momentum, our government is making the largest-ever investment in sport — with $1 billion to improve access to sport, to upgrade stadiums, fields, and local parks, and to provide talent with resources to get from playground to podium.
“We are backing the Canada Soccer National Training Centre to create a permanent national home for soccer so the next Alphonso Davies or Christine Sinclair has the opportunities they need.
“As fans, we can support our local soccer teams and our national team — not just every four years — but year-in, year-out. Canada’s soccer journey is just beginning. The best is yet to come.”
Canada’s incredible World Cup was not just on the pitch, but also in communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Carney wants this to be the beginning of Canada being a soccer nation, and not the finish line.
The investment builds on a historic run for the Canadian men’s national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™.
The men reached the knockout stage for the first time and advanced to the Round of 16 before losing to Morocco.
Toronto and Vancouver also hosted 13 of the tournament’s 104 matches and were highly praised by visiting fans as two of the top host cities.
The fans in both cities packed the streets before each Canada match, along with sports bars and watch parties across the country.
Overall, 30.5 million unique Canadian viewers (75 per cent of the country’s population) watched live tournament coverage on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave, according to preliminary data from Numeris.
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