![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Article_1_photo_(1).png\")
<\/p>\n
Canada Soccer named Boi-1da as the country’s first national teams music ambassador. (Image submitted by Boi-1da)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soccer and music\u00a0<\/p>\n
Boi-1da has produced hits for artists like Drake, Eminem and Rihanna.<\/p>\n
The producer said sports drives music and vice versa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthletes are always listening to music and inspired by music, hyped up by music,\u201d Boi-1da told CBC Kids News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said he created the album with input from players on the national team. For example, he included a song in French after francophone player Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9 expressed that the French language is part of the country\u2019s culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we wanted to do was to make music that represents the country \u2014 the different facets, different races and different cultures of it,\u201d said the music producer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The album will feature songs from Canadian artists such as Sophie Powers, Nelly Furtado and the Tragically Hip.<\/p>\n
![\"Boi-1da](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Article_image_2.png\")
<\/p>\n
The album, titled What If It All Goes Right?, includes songs by Canadian musicians for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026. (Image submitted by Boi-1da)\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to a news release from Canada Soccer, proceeds from the album will help fund community soccer programs, offer financial assistance for players who need it, and strengthen development pathways that lead talented young players to the national teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to focus on really ensuring that Canadian youth can participate in soccer by providing financial assistance, but also other community-driven initiatives that really focus on reducing some of the barriers to entry in soccer,\u201d said Samantha Rogers, who oversees philanthropy projects at Canada Soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a soccer dad of his 15-year-old daughter, Boi-1da said he has witnessed many kids not being able to participate in the sports due to a lack of resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing talented kids not being able to play the sport really hits home for me,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why is soccer so expensive?\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Jumpstart\u2019s research, it costs an average of about $1,100 a year for a Canadian kid to play soccer.<\/p>\n
About 75 per cent of families spend less than $300 a year for a kid to play soccer. But for kids playing at a competitive level, the average cost is more than $2,000 a year \u2014 and it can get a lot higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt costs thousands of dollars just to play on elite teams,\u201d said Murray Mollard, a former university soccer player and director of the B.C. Soccer Association, as well as a soccer dad.<\/p>\n
He analyzed the Canadian men\u2019s national soccer program in a recent book, called Winning Pitch.<\/p>\n
Mollard said that when his son participates in tournaments, there\u2019s always extra costs \u2014 such as airfare, hotels and other travel expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many families that can’t afford that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Miles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Article_image_3.png\")
<\/p>\n
Miles Mewa is one of many Canadian kids who had to drop out of soccer due to financial barriers. (Image submitted by Miles Mewa)<\/p>\n
To continue chasing his dream without adding more pressure to his family\u2019s finances, Miles said that he could try to join a professional league so he could get sponsors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But even trying out for those leagues can cost a lot of money.<\/p>\n
Miles said private organizations hold showcases for coaches to find talented players, but the entrance fees for those events are still costly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’d say truly, the most talented people are having trouble accessing those showcases, because there is still a barrier, and a lot of people getting held back,\u201d said Miles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mollard said that all those pricey fees are examples of Canada\u2019s \u201cpay-to-play\u201d model for youth soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This means that many players who could be good enough to play for their country won\u2019t get the chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe children\u2019s financial background should not matter. You can be a great player if you have physiological talents,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Article_image_4.png\")
\nA younger Miles Mewa, right, with his brother Owen Mewa, left, and dad David Mewa, centre. Miles says his family\u2019s finances were strained when he and his two brothers all played soccer, so he quit. (Image submitted by David Mewa)\u00a0<\/p>\n
What impact can the World Cup bring to Canadian soccer?<\/p>\n
The FIFA World Cup starts on June 11, and Canada is one of the host countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that with more enthusiasm, there will be more investment in the sport, more financial support for soccer in Canada,\u201d said Mollard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miles said he doesn\u2019t expect the World Cup will change Canadian soccer overnight. But he hopes it will be one of many initiatives that will help make soccer cheaper in Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope in the future, it will just be normalized for a good player to play for a good team,\u201d said Miles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
_____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n
\ufeff\ufeffHave more questions? \ufeffWant to tell us how we’re doing? Use the \u201csend us feedback\u201d link below. \u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f<\/p>\n
______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boi-1da is producing Canadian album for FIFA World Cup \u2b50\ufe0fHERE\u2019S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW\u2b50\ufe0f Producer Boi-1da is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-716745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}