Toronto will host Canada’s opening game in the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 12, 2026, FIFA announced on Feb. 4.
BMO Field will play host to the first-ever men’s World Cup game on Canadian soil before the team flies west to play its remaining two group-stage games in Vancouver’s B.C. Place.
In total, Toronto will host six World Cup games, including one round of the 32 face off. This means in addition to Canada’s opening game, there will be five other contests for Torontonians to see.
Participants in these matches are still to be determined as the rest of the world is currently in the midst of its World Cup qualifying cycle. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. achieved automatic qualification as host nations.
Even without knowing the opponents yet, Canadian soccer supporter Maayan Zilbershtein is feeling the excitement start to pick up.
“I know it’s still over two years away,” he said. “But it’s slowly, slowly getting there and I’m starting to get more and more excited.”
“It’s getting real, and I can’t wait for 2026,” Zilbershtein said.
BMO Field will undergo renovations before the tournament to comply with FIFA’s minimum limit of 40,000, with upgrades in the north and south end of the stadium expected to increase the capacity of the stadium from about 28,000 to over 45,000.
However, BMO Field will still be the smallest venue in the tournament in terms of capacity – with Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, beating it out by about 2,000 seats.
While 2026 marks the first time Canada will host a men’s World Cup on home soil, it won’t be the first time a World Cup will be played in Canada.
The 2015 women’s World Cup was played in Canada, although Toronto was not a host city as it was focusing on the Pan American games later that summer. Toronto was a host city for the 2007 under-20 men’s World Cup.
According to a FIFA press release, both of these competitions set then-record attendance numbers for their respective tournaments, showing that soccer at the highest level in Canada is in high demand.
Canada bowed out to England in the quarterfinal of the 2015 women’s World Cup and was knocked out in the group stage of the 2007 under-20 men’s World Cup.
However, concerns remain around the state of the Canadian Soccer Association, which remains without a general secretary or permanent men’s head coach as the program enters a pivotal 2024 with Copa América qualification on the line in March in a play-in match against Trinidad and Tobago.
The bulk of the 2026 World Cup will happen in the U.S., with every game from the quarterfinal round onward to be held in American cities, including the final at New Jersey’s MetLife stadium.
The entire tournament will kick off on June 11, 2026, when Mexico takes the pitch at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.