Toronto is bracing for an influx of visitors as it prepares to host six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, beginning with a game featuring the Canadian men’s national team on June 12. The city is officially 100 days away from the tournament’s kickoff on June 11, a milestone marked Tuesday with a public celebration at Rebel nightclub.
Sharon Bollenbach, Executive Director for World Cup 2026 at the City of Toronto, highlighted the FIFA Fan Festival planned for Fort York and The Bentway as a central hub for fans. “What people can expect at Fan Fest is to be able to watch live broadcasts of the matches, and not just the matches happening in Toronto, but matches from the other 15 host cities across Canada, U.S. And Mexico,” Bollenbach said. The 22-day festival will feature activations and food and beverage vendors, with a capacity of up to 20,000 people.
Andrew Weir, President and CEO of Destination Toronto, anticipates “tens of thousands” of visitors arriving in the city “on a daily basis” throughout June. The scale of the event was underscored by TSN’s Matthew Scianitti, who told CP24, “I wish everyone in the city to realize: What we have is the biggest event there is on the planet and it’s coming to Toronto.” TSN, the official broadcaster of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is airing a special program on the milestone at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Toronto Stadium, formerly BMO Field, is undergoing upgrades to meet FIFA standards. Six matches are scheduled at the venue, including Canada’s opening game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent from a European playoff group consisting of Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other matches include Ghana versus Panama on June 17, Germany versus Côte d’Ivoire on June 20, Panama versus Croatia on June 23, Senegal versus either Bolivia, Iraq, or Suriname on June 26, and a Group K runners-up versus Group L runners-up match on July 2. Canada will also play Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24 in Vancouver.
While initial ticket sale draws have concluded, FIFA plans to begin last-minute sales in early April on a first-come, first-serve basis. A resale and exchange marketplace will reopen on April 2 at 11 a.m. EST. Resale tickets are currently available on sites like StubHub.ca, with prices for Canada’s June 12 game starting at $3,713. Other matches, such as Germany versus Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana versus Panama, have resale tickets starting at $1,080 and $721, respectively.
Former Toronto mayor John Tory, who was in office when Toronto was awarded the games, expressed confidence in the city’s preparedness. “I consider we’re ready. I think we’re ready in terms of our enthusiasm, for sure…I think we’re going to be ready in terms of all the logistics due to the fact that we’re good at that. We saw how we did with the Pan Am Games and when it came time to put those on, we put them on in a way that was something very proud for the city and the whole country,” he said.
