The biggest soccer boom took off in Canada during the late 20th century, and it slowly grew into being the number one national sport. Ever since, it’s hard to deny its impact on Canadian culture and how much engagement it receives from fans all over the country. But what are some possible reasons for soccer beating hockey and attracting more and more upcoming players each year?
Some of them have to do with the rise of the internet and availability to watch sports from all over the world. Other reasons are connected to soccer gambling heavily promoting the discipline as well as various big sponsors bringing money in to support and develop teams. And finally, their professional teams have grown stronger and more competitive in the last few years…
Below are the three major reasons for the expansion of soccer in Canada, now taking place for over 30 years. And it still keeps going!
Demographics Are Changing
With current globalization trends, this is a no-brainer: young talents are inspired by world-known superstars and legendary teams. And what is the biggest sport worldwide? That’s right. Soccer. Seeing new athletes become successful every year is the ultimate motivation for kids and teenagers wanting to get into sports. Even if you’re not very athletic yourself, modern Casino Days and social media make it easy to get involved as a spectator, cheering for your favorite team, whether local or not. Keeping up with leagues and match results has never been as easy as nowadays.
And choosing what’s widely available and respected across the globe is the best way for both fans looking for emotions and players seeking a possible career path. With the younger generation coming into sports, their choices are greatly influenced by the internet and whatever peers around the world find interesting.
Number One Sport
Now being the most popular sport in terms of officially registered players, soccer surpassed ice hockey, which used to be a discipline greatly associated with the country. Hockey became overshadowed in the late 80s and 90s, despite its pro league being huge.
It was mostly due to the global success of their national team, which has just recently made a comeback and will appear in a major FIFA event in 2022.
Fun fact: once a certain sport becomes the number one, its growth is sure to be exponential and bring in bigger and bigger crowds every year. The result of such growth? Even further development.
Canadian Success Stories
Some of Canada’s achievements in soccer include the appearance in the 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico) and 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup (Japan). As for 2022, the national men’s team sits at place #38 in the rankings. The team has also qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. According to an online casino, they are somewhere in the middle of the pack, when it comes to fans’ predictions.
It’s worth noting that the women’s national team has appeared in 10 FIFA tournaments so far and is currently ranked #6 worldwide. While soccer is traditionally perceived as a sport for guys, in recent years it certainly has become more accessible for women wanting to take a shot… And Canadian female enthusiasts prove it to everybody!
There are also many national leagues such as Canadian Premier League, semi-pro League1 Canada, but some Canadian teams also appear in MLS, which is the highest level league in the US. There are currently three Canadian teams participating: Toronto FC, CF Montreal and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Conclusion
The Canadian fascination with soccer is growing stronger each year and looks like nothing will stop it soon. With the discipline being number one worldwide, it is safe to say that it will bring more and more fans to cheer for the Canada soccer teams.
It overtook ice hockey and has been holding the number one spot for more than 30 years, with over 1,200 clubs operating in 13 provincial associations. Their professional teams represent Canada on major FIFA events as well as in the United States during Major Soccer League.
The above combined ensure enough entertainment for fans all year round and keep everybody constantly engaged and screaming “GOAL!!!”