Canada Soccer has a message for Italian fans still stinging from the Azzurri's penalty shootout elimination by Bosnia and Herzegovina: stop waiting, start supporting.
The governing body is running a free jersey swap this Saturday at Cafe Diplomatico on College Street in Toronto's Little Italy — hand over your Italy shirt, leave with a Canadian one. "Dear Italian soccer fans, Don't wait four more years. Swap your jersey for Canada," they posted on X. It's a cheeky move, and given the context, a smart one.
Italy have now missed three consecutive men's World Cups. Three. The 2018 absence was supposed to be a wake-up call. It wasn't. Missing 2022 hurt again. Now 2026 — a tournament partly being played on their own doorstep in North America — is gone too, this time after a gut-punch exit on penalties to the very team that will now face Canada in Group B.
1.5 million reasons this campaign makes sense
Canada's pitch isn't just opportunistic trolling. There are around 1.5 million Canadians with full or partial Italian heritage, per the 2021 census. Close to a third of them live in and around Toronto. That's a significant fanbase sitting idle this summer, and Jesse Marsch's team would clearly rather have them filling BMO Field than mourning from the couch.
Canada's Group B opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina is at that same BMO Field on 12 June — and ticket prices have already gone stratospheric, with unsold seats listed at $3,125 and resale matching that. The free jersey swap might genuinely be the most accessible way Italian-Canadians engage with this World Cup in their own city.
What this means for Canada's home tournament
Canada have never reached the knockout rounds of a World Cup. Home support — and the noise that comes with a packed BMO Field — could matter more than any tactical setup in those group games. Converts from the Italian diaspora won't hurt. Their statement even included a line in Italian: "Questa volta è il Canada" — "This time, it's Canada."
Whether the swagger is earned remains the real question. Canada's World Cup odds as group winners will look more interesting with home crowd momentum behind them. But first, they need the shirts on the right backs.
The swap runs 10am to 2pm EST on Saturday 4 April. Available while supplies last — fans are encouraged to arrive early.
