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Nearly three-quarters (71%) of Canadians think that hosting the World Cup is only worthwhile if cities break even or come out ahead, according to a poll.
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Toronto and Vancouver are among the North American cities that will be hosting games during the 2026 World Cup.
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Conditional support for hosting World Cup games
The Angus Reid poll concluded that Canadians only think hosting the soccer matches is worth it if host cities make enough revenue to meet costs (32%) or exceed them (39%).
The pollster noted that estimates from the summer place the cost at hosting seven games in Vancouver to be $624 million to the province and municipal governments, with another $116 million committed by the federal government. In Toronto, the three levels of government are expected to share the $380-million cost of hosting World Cup games.
The poll found 20% say it’s not worth hosting the event regardless, while a smaller group (9%) insist it’s a valuable event even if it costs taxpayers money.
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Those who describe themselves as interested in following the World Cup next summer are much more likely (66%) than those who are not (32%) to believe hosting the event is a “worthwhile investment.”
TICKETS TOO EXPENSIVE
As tickets are slowly released in the lead up to the event, an overwhelming majority 71% – including 84% who say they are “very interested” to watch the tournament unfold in 2026 – believe the ticket prices are too expensive for them to attend.
Another half (52%) say if they were given two tickets to the World Cup, they would try to sell them to get cash.
Canada’s men’s national team prepares for the World Cup with a warm-up match against Venezuela on Tuesday.
Conducted online from Oct. 7-11 among 2,031 Canadians, Angus Reid says that for comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of 2%, 19 times out of 20.
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