With only a few days left until the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, the organization has officially launched its fan experience program in the heart of Newfoundland.
Alongside being a host country, FIFA has introduced Canada Celebrates the FIFA World Cup 2026, a pop-up exhibition intended for everyone from the FIFA fanatic to the casual fan. Canada Celebrates will tour across 38 locations, hitting all ten provinces and the Yukon along the way, capping off in Brampton and Niagara Falls on July 18th and 19th.
For their first destination, FIFA began their Canada Celebrates tour in Mount Pearl, lining up directly with the exhibition event between Canada and Uzbekistan in Edmonton. While the pre-tournament match was live streamed at the Team Gushue Sports Complex, several musical acts were scheduled to drum up anticipation from the audience, including Karla Pilgrim & Jackie Sullivan, Salt Beef Junkies, and Rum Ragged.
The event also attracted local talents in Newfoundland’s radioscene, as OZFM’s Summer Cruiser Team, hosted by Kaelem Tingate and Paige Hancock, were at the event distributing merchandise for the radio station. In addition to the Cruiser Team, OZFM’s Robert Shawn was the emcee for the exhibition, withstanding the drizzle and cold conditions of the day.
Despite the suboptimal weather, many locals still arrived for the event, taking advantage of the free items distributed by Coca-Cola, Fuze Iced Tea, Molson Canadian, and more. Several games were set up along the entrance to the event, all of which were soccer-themed, including an eight-feet high soccer ball to headbutt and a Skee-Ball game, but with soccer balls instead.
While the weather wasn’t much better in Edmonton, Canada was at least able to end the night with a victory, scoring 2-0 against Uzbekistan in the international friendly, building up some positive momentum for the host country heading into the World Cup.
Fans can catch Team Canada’s first game of the 2026 World Cup when they face off against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12th. As for the Canada Celebrates tour, their next stop is on the opposite side of the country in Whitehorse, Yukon on July 5th.