The Island’s chances of hosting pre-World Cup soccer training camps and exhibition games in 2026 were greatly enhanced by the sa国际传媒 government’s decision this week to back a bid to host three to five games at sa国际传媒 Place.
There could be pools located in Vancouver and Seattle with national teams looking for pre-tournament exhibition games and training camp venues. Victoria was among 52 training-base options across the continent presented to FIFA in the official bid book put forward by the U.S./sa国际传媒/Mexico United Bid, which in 2018 won the right to host the 2026 World Cup.
Two venues — Centennial Stadium at UVic and Royal Athletic Park — are mentioned specifically in the United bid book. They could serve as pre-World Cup training base camps for the national teams that will be based at sa国际传媒 Place or Lumen Field in Seattle.
“We’re really excited by the sa国际传媒 Place news this week. This gives us multiple avenues for Victoria for camps and pre-tournament games and we hope to be one of the satellite sites,” said David Lawes, president of the Victoria West soccer club.
“We received a great field at Royal Athletic Park from hosting the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2007 but it’s now in need of repair and upgrading. There is now again FIFA funding potential. We hope FIFA dollars can come back here to fix the field. We have been talking to the provincial government and been advised by the province that should the Vancouver 2026 FIFA World Cup bid be successful, then Victoria and RAP may be a financial beneficiary. If we become a pre-tournament grounds, the legacy will be tremendous.”
Starlight Stadium in Langford will be at 10,000 seats by then but its turf field would need to be converted to a FIFA-approved natural-grass field in order to host World Cup training camps or exhibition games, which is certainly within the scope of that thriving community to accomplish, and something it would no doubt look into, as it does all sports hosting opportunities.
Shawnigan Lake School has hosted numerous Canadian national team rugby and rowing camps as well as Vancouver Canucks development camps and would provide an enclosed environment complete with fields, dorms and dining hall, which the heavyweight national sides such as Germany and Brazil prefer, because it makes security easier.
Pre-World Cup training camps are complex operations featuring pro players who are centralized with their national teams for about a month before the competition starts. Most national teams prefer to establish their pre-World Cup training compounds away from their first-round group-game cities but in nearby regions. That makes the Island strategically located for both Vancouver and Seattle groups.
The decision by FIFA on which 16 cities in sa国际传媒, Mexico and the U.S. will host games is expected next month. The other Canadian cities vying are Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium) and Toronto (BMO Field). There will be 80 World Cup games in 2026, of which 60 will be hosted in the U.S., and 10 in each of sa国际传媒 and Mexico in the first expanded 48-team tournament.
The sa国际传媒 government reversed its initial decision from 2018, much criticized at the time, to not pursue hosting World Cup games at sa国际传媒 Place.
“sa国际传媒 and the rest of the world has been hit hard by the pandemic. Hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 would serve as a beacon for sa国际传媒’s tourism industry, as it recovers from an incredibly challenging two years,” Melanie Mark, sa国际传媒 Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, said in a statement.
“Destination sa国际传媒 and sa国际传媒 Stats estimated hosting would bring in more than $1 billion in new revenue for sa国际传媒’s tourism sector during and in the five years that follow the event,” stated Mark.
