In about one year from now, the 2026 World Cup will be coming to a climax at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The build-up to the tournament and the buzz around the sport of soccer is reaching fever pitch across the country as Canada prepares to host the tournament for the first time.

In Waterloo Region, local soccer clubs are experiencing significant growth in demand and interest, but the change isn’t just coming on the pitch.

Soccer culture is taking over Waterloo Region as well in anticipation for the World Cup. Soccer jerseys with the names of the sport’s brightest stars are becoming a more common sight around town, and are arguably more visible than hockey jerseys.

“I had a kid in our under-seven age group yesterday tell me that Lamine Yamal is the G.O.A.T., which, I think he’s like 17 years old. He’s won the Euros with Spain, he’s a regular starter on Barcelona. So there’s a seven-year-old who already knows of an up-and-coming star,” said Ryan McCord, general manager of Waterloo United.

McCord said their programs are seeing a spike in interest, especially on the boys side. That growth also opens the door to opportunities to collaborate with corporate sponsors who can help fund the non-profit organization’s youth programs.

“The accessibility will always be paramount to growing the game,” said McCord. “Just keeping it about the game, not just about trying to play in a certain tier.”

“You don’t have to be volunteering as a coach, giving up your evening and weekends. If you have connections to local businesses, corporate sponsors, people that want to enhance the experience for kids at a local level, that’s massive.”

According to Danielle Byers, engagement manager at the Kitchener Soccer Club and Kitchener TFC, interest in their program has grown by roughly 20 per cent this year, and they have just under 5,000 athletes currently enrolled in their programs.

“I would think that’s a little more than most of the Toronto clubs would have, and we do predict that to grow quite a bit,” said Byers.

Byers added that bringing the World Cup to Canadian soil helps give young soccer players motivation to achieve great things in their own athletic pursuits.

“If you can see it, you can be it,” said Byers. “It’s one thing to watch that on television, but to be able to potentially go and watch some of the greatest players in the world compete on the field and see that with your own eyes, feel the energy in the stadium. What that’s going to do for a kid’s dream and trickle down to the work that they want to put into that is incredible.”

Of course, the 2026 World Cup gives the Canadian men a chance to impress on the world stage, but the Canadian women have already been doing that for decades. Byers and the Kitchener Soccer Club are capitalizing on the growth in interest in the sport by making sure young girls have equal opportunity to play and love the sport.

“One of our team’s had the opportunity to go out to the Canadian women’s game that they had at BMO field in June as well,” said Byers. “They had the opportunity to get down in the tunnel, meet some of the players, get some autographs. For them, for those young girls, I think that it’s an experience they’ll never forget.”

Both Waterloo United and the Kitchener Soccer Club noted that they’re planning on hosting some fun events in the lead-up to the tournament, and watch parties while it’s taking place.

“If you think about downtown Kitchener, uptown Waterloo, can we host things there?” said McCord. “Outdoor watch parties similar to what you see when the Blue Jays make the playoffs, the Raptors, the Leafs, things like that. I think rallying the community around it will be very important.”

The World Cup’s first whistle is just 329 days away.