Aftab Ahmed

February 7, 2023

In 2026, Canada will co-host the FIFA World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver. The country’s reputation for shaping and adhering to international norms and standards will be on the line.

Leveraging a fiscally responsible, process-driven and transparent approach towards organizing soccer’s marquee event is vital for a plethora of reasons. How public sector stakeholders design, manage and implement this national project in the next four years is fundamental in both safeguarding and boosting the image of the country in the global political landscape.

To understand why hosting this tournament is such a big deal, one needs to position soccer through the lens of the sport’s unparalleled global reach – in addition to situating it in wider conversations pertaining to international relations. A recent Netflix documentary highlighted a historic FBI-led investigation of soccer’s governing body: with corruption, ethics violations, money laundering, and arrests of senior leadership representing the unfortunate tale of FIFA.

In the case of Qatar, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is an overarching consensus that the Arab nation hosted a spectacular World Cup in 2022 – and the emirate should be applauded for welcoming over 1.4 million tourists amidst much pomp, ceremony, and pageantry. However, the circumstances which led to Qatar securing the hosting rights were controversial to say the least. Allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated against migrant workers remain to be fully investigated.

Putting on a magnificent show, as Qatar did, provided soccer fans an avenue to learn about Middle Eastern history and culture. But what happened behind the scenes in planning the tournament left room for improvement. In light of these controversies, Canada must take ownership of setting high standards in the arenas of fiscal transparency, financial reporting, workers’ rights, and organizational accountability – and curate a robust policy framework in anticipation of co-hosting the biggest sporting event in the world.

World Cups are not necessarily profitable ventures for countries – at least in pure fiscal terms. Nevertheless, international sporting events have a history of catalyzing global attention and of stimulating economic investments towards host nations.

So how is Canada faring so far? And what information do we have regarding the tournament? For a start, Toronto and Vancouver are expected to host a total of 10 matches. To put it bluntly, it is going to cost taxpayers a lot of money. A recent municipal report estimates total costs of $300 million for hosting five matches in Toronto – leading to the potential creation of 3300 jobs and a projected GDP impact of approximately $307 million.

Two-thirds of the estimated costs, or $184 million, is likely to be covered by the federal government and the province of Ontario, as per the Federal Policy for Hosting International Sports Events. As things stand, no formal agreement has been reached on this front.

The fact that the estimated cost posited by the City of Toronto is four times higher than what was reported in 2018 indicates that the numbers being communicated to the public are not accurate. The British Columbia government, on the other hand, puts projected costs within the range of $240 million to $260 million – but no official update has been provided by the City of Vancouver.

Hosting a World Cup is complex. And to expect preliminary numbers to be precise is perhaps overly optimistic. So, what should we as citizens and soccer fans expect? To get things going, Toronto and Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Staff Secretariats need to be established as soon as possible. These bodies will have the operational mandates of conducting comprehensive cost-benefit analyses and undertaking the institutional leadership of organizing the World Cup.

Furthermore, providing clarity on the processes behind advertising and awarding government contracts to private sector partners and commercial interests will showcase the commitment of the Staff Secretariats to implement an appropriate level of transparency.

World Cups are not necessarily profitable ventures for countries – at least in pure fiscal terms. Nevertheless, international sporting events have a history of catalyzing global attention and of stimulating economic investments towards host nations. Under the leadership of the minister of sport, Ottawa should consider defining a set of best practices, norms and standards, with respect to how the World Cup ought to be organized – with an explicit focus on ensuring fiscal transparency. Such would demand the active coordination of municipal stakeholders, the British Columbia and Ontario governments, the Canadian Soccer Association, and Sports Canada.

Canada needs to exhibit both its willingness and capacity to proactively outline and communicate its institutional priorities and policy processes towards organizing the World Cup. The financial failure of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, which left the city with $1.6 billion in debt, remains embedded in the public psyche – and a repetition of this would be simply unacceptable.

Aftab Ahmed is a Master’s of Public Policy candidate with the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. Aftab serves as the Chief Editor of The Bell Newsletter and is a regular columnist for the Bangladeshi media outlets The Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune.