World Cup '26

There is no specific memorable anecdote that looms large when Barbara Pannese recalls teaching Team Canada defender Richie Laryea in Grades 6 and 7 at St. Jerome Catholic School in Toronto.

It was immediately evident to Greg Spagnoli that Jonathan Osorio, Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan each possessed a “diamond in the rough persona” during their respective playing tenures with the St. Edmund Campion Catholic Secondary School senior soccer team in Brampton, Ont.

With the 2026 World Cup expected to draw the eyes of more than five billion this summer, one ministry is challenging Christians to turn their living rooms into unlikely mission fields, using soccer and hospitality to spark genuine relationships and lasting hope as matches kick off this June.

Canada’s Men’s National Soccer Team heads into the FIFA World Cup on home ground without a designated chaplain.

As Vancouver prepares to host its first-ever FIFA World Cup match on June 13, the Archdiocese of Vancouver will open the doors of Holy Rosary Cathedral for a Nightfever event.