The biggest World Cup ever played begins today — and for the first time in history, Canada is one of its hosts. The FIFA World Cup 2026 opens this morning in Mexico City, with Vancouver set to host seven matches at BC Place, two of them featuring Canada’s national team. For the next 39 days, the world’s most-watched sporting event runs through our own backyard.
Here is everything you need to know to follow it — including how to watch every Canada match for free.
A World Cup unlike any before it
This is the first World Cup hosted by three countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States — and the first with 48 teams, up from 32 in Qatar four years ago. A record 104 matches will be played across 16 cities between June 11 and July 19, with the final at New York New Jersey Stadium.
Canada hosts 13 of those matches, split between Toronto’s BMO Field and Vancouver’s BC Place. It is the largest sporting event this country has ever staged.
The tournament opens today with Mexico facing South Africa at the legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City — the same stadium where Maradona and Pelé lifted World Cups.
Canada’s team plays at home — starting Friday
This is only the third men’s World Cup in Canada’s history, after 1986 and 2022 — and the first on home soil. Canada opens its campaign Friday, June 12 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time (3:00 p.m. Eastern).
Then the team comes to us. Canada plays its two remaining group matches at BC Place: against Qatar on Thursday, June 18 at 3:00 p.m. PT, and against Switzerland on Wednesday, June 24 at 12:00 p.m. PT. Those two afternoons are set to be the loudest Vancouver has sounded in years.
Coach Jesse Marsch has named a young 26-man squad, with captain Alphonso Davies — the Edmonton-raised superstar — returning from injury and goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau between the posts. Canada sits in Group B; the top two teams advance, and a strong third place can also qualify under the new format.
Seven matches at BC Place
Vancouver hosts more World Cup matches than any other Canadian city. The action at BC Place begins Saturday, June 13, when Australia meets Türkiye at 9:00 p.m. PT. Egypt, New Zealand and Belgium also play group matches here, before Vancouver stages a Round of 32 match on July 2 and a Round of 16 match on July 7.
Going in person? Tickets are fully digital and sold only through FIFA’s official site at fifa.com — never buy from resellers on social media or outside the stadium, where fake-ticket scams are already circulating. BC Place enforces a clear-bag policy (maximum 12″×6″×12″, no backpacks), and transit is the way to go: expect heavy crowds and arrive early.
No ticket? The Fan Festival is free
The FIFA Fan Festival Vancouver opens today at Hastings Park — the PNE grounds at 2901 East Hastings Street — and runs every day of the tournament, June 11 through July 19. Entry is completely free, confirmed by the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia.
More than 70 matches will be shown live on giant screens, including in the brand-new 10,000-capacity amphitheatre, where the general-admission floor is free on a first-come, first-served basis. Add more than 120 live performances, food trucks from across Vancouver’s communities, and family activities, and the PNE becomes the city’s gathering place for the next five weeks. Full schedules are at vancouverfwc26.ca.
How to watch from home — for free
Bell Media holds the Canadian broadcast rights. Every one of the 104 matches airs live on TSN in English and RDS in French. But here is what matters for most households: every Canada match is free on CTV — no cable subscription needed with an antenna — and free in French on Noovo. CTV also carries the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. Crave streams everything CTV airs.
What happens next
The group stage runs through June 27, followed by the new Round of 32 — the first time in World Cup history that 32 teams reach the knockout rounds. If Canada wins its group, its first knockout match would be right here in Vancouver on July 2.
For the next five weeks, StudioX News will be covering the World Cup the way our communities live it — in your language, in your neighbourhood, from the Fan Festival to the watch parties. The world has arrived. Welcome it.
FIFA World Cup 2026, Vancouver, BC Place, Canada soccer, FIFA Fan Festival
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
