Canada's 2026 World Cup journey has, sadly, come to an end. This week, the tournament — for years, anticipated as a turning point for the sport in this country — will depart Canadian soil.
As a World Cup host nation, Canada has generally triumphed. Visitors to Toronto and Vancouver have effused on the welcoming nature and party atmosphere in both cities. Canadians have seen our country in the global spotlight, and thousands fell in love with our national team as they made history on the pitch.
Now comes the next phase.
The lights will go out, the signs will come down and the world's attention will move on.
Here in Canada, the question is: What will be the legacy of hosting the World Cup? And how do we harness a swell of momentum behind the sport?
Part of that legacy is the day-to-day backbone of Canadian soccer: the club game. Whether that's the Canadian Premier League, Northern Super League, Premier Soccer Leagues Canada, or the three MLS sides, the sport continues.
Soccer will be played on Canadian fields week in and week out, and hundreds of Canadian players keep dreaming of playing at a World Cup.
Several members of Canada's World Cup squad returned to Toronto on Sunday and spoke with reporters about the next steps for Canadian soccer.
"It's important to go out, support your local teams," said Tani Oluwaseyi. "You can have teams outside of Canada, but it's also nice to support the team closest to you."
The players pointed specifically at the Canadian Premier League and its importance in strengthening Canada's soccer ecosystem.
"This World Cup, I hope, will help with the CPL in this country," Ali Ahmed said.
"I hope there will be more eyeballs on the CPL because there is some young talent there. It's a league of opportunity, a league of hidden talent. Some players could be playing for our national team in the next World Cup."
The CPL will always be intertwined with the story of Canada co-hosting a World Cup.
When the United 2026 bid was announced in 2017, the CPL had not yet kicked off, but it was a crucial piece of the puzzle.
No country had ever been awarded a World Cup without a top-flight professional men's league in place; when the United States won the bid for 1994, it was contingent upon Major League Soccer kicking off the following year.
There was no such specific requirement for the CPL, but the league was part of the story. The official bid book submitted to FIFA mentioned the CPL kicking off in 2019.
Establishing a domestic league was a critical step on Canada's journey to becoming a soccer nation.
Now, eight years into its existence, the CPL is helping to develop the next generation of Canadian stars.
Every youth national team camp features CPL players, who are often the leaders and key figures in those squads, benefiting from their experience in a fully professional league. Shola Jimoh and Sergei Kozlovskiy might be the two most important players at Canada's upcoming U-20 World Cup qualification campaign.
"Everyone knows the MLS Canadian teams, and I think CPL has now come a long way within our country," added CanMNT defender Richie Laryea.
"We've had guys like a Joel Waterman that have come through the CPL, now with the full men's national team, two World Cups. I think the league has done its job and has done what it's supposed to do."
Within the CPL itself, players and coaches alike echo the sentiment. Across the league, there's a sense of working toward something bigger than wins and losses; they're pushing the sport forward in Canada.
On Sunday evening on TSN, incoming Pacific FC head coach Terry Dunfield put it plainly:
"I believe the future of Canadian soccer is the Canadian Premier League."
Meanwhile, Atlético Ottawa interim coach Drew Beckie has been inspired by what he's seen around Canada recently during the World Cup.
Beckie references scenes in Toronto, when fans greeted Cristiano Ronaldo at Portugal's hotel, and dreams of converting those fans into CPL supporters — or for the younger ones, future players.
"Can we start seeing more Atlético Ottawa jerseys, more Cavalry jerseys, more Halifax jerseys? I don't care who it is, just go out and support your team and be a part of that," he said. "The reality is that these kids can play in their own backyard and then, maybe in the future, one will go to Man United or Arsenal, I don't know, but the future of our national team depends on that."
The true impact of a World Cup on home soil will be felt years or even decades from now, when the generation that watched this team writes its own soccer stories.
In the meantime, the game keeps going in Canada. Soccer's story in this country doesn't end with the World Cup.
On local pitches across the country, Canada's future stars are taking their first steps.
With files from OneSoccer.
