Canada Soccer: Italian-Canadians Rally for Red

Canada soccer made moves this weekend in Toronto's Little Italy, urging fans of Italian roots to swap their blue jerseys for Canada's fresh red home.

Kid ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Italy just crashed out of qualifying, losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff, so they will not join the tournament.

If Italy had made it, they would have landed in Group B with Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland.

Canada is co-hosting the big event alongside the United States and Mexico, putting our squad right in the spotlight.

Fans showed up in droves outside a local coffee shop, lining up for hours to make the trade while keeping their original Italy gear.

With 1.5 million people of Italian descent in Canada, that is 4.3% of the population, mostly in Ontario and Quebec, this.

It's home for a huge community.

Canada soccer's communications chief, Paolo Senra, stressed how Italian Canadians have fueled the sport here for generations.

He is calling on everyone to ditch old loyalties and build momentum for the men's national team.

Since this time, it is our turn on home soil.

As the World Cup high builds, expect more rallies like this to unite the nation behind the reds and turn every fan into a true supporter.

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