VANCOUVER \u2014 The morning after a tough-to-swallow loss, you might expect the president of Canada Soccer to be in a less-than-affable mood. Peter Augruso, however, is not one to dwell. He has already seen enough, both on and off the pitch, to keep his spirits up.<\/p>\n
It is not often, after all, that a man in his station gets to see his sport grow and evolve literally before his eyes, all through the lens of a FIFA World Cup on home soil.<\/p>\n
Losing 2\u20131 to Switzerland on Wednesday and missing out on top spot in Group B may have cost Canada the chance to play more matches in Vancouver, but the journey continues \u2014 albeit in Los Angeles with a Round of 32 tilt against South Africa on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we\u2019re disappointed when we don\u2019t win because our expectations are higher now but think about what we\u2019ve accomplished: Canada\u2019s first World Cup point, Canada\u2019s first World Cup victory, now an opportunity to reach the last 16,\u201d Augruso told Sportsnet.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the men\u2019s side, we\u2019ve achieved things that had never been done before. The women\u2019s program has been setting standards for years, and now the men\u2019s side is beginning to build its own history.\u201d<\/p>\n
That history on the pitch has been turned on its head and, in doing so, is turning heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we\u2019re getting a tremendous amount of credibility as a football nation,\u201d Augruso said. \u201cEvery federation president I speak with around the world tells me the same thing: \u2018Wow, Canada has really come a long way.\u2019 From the outside it looks like it happened quickly, but of course it hasn\u2019t. This has been building for years. [Former manager] John Herdman really started that movement when he came to Canada with the women\u2019s program and then took over the men\u2019s side. Jesse [Marsch] has built on everything John accomplished and taken it to another level.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s nice to hear people talking about Canada as a legitimate football nation. We\u2019re no longer viewed as the easy game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, the footballing story is only half the picture. The success of the World Cup in both Toronto and Vancouver has gone beyond the expectations of most people, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who watched Canada\u2019s historic 6\u20130 win over Qatar alongside Augruso and Prime Minister Mark Carney.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s been pleasantly surprised by the reception the tournament has received here,\u201d Augruso said. \u201cThe march to the stadium was incredible. We had around 8,000 supporters walking together before the Qatar match. Everywhere you go in Vancouver you feel like you\u2019re in a World Cup city.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Vancouver] has completely embraced this tournament. Toronto was fantastic, too. We had tremendous support there, but Toronto hosts major events all the time. On one of our match days, the Blue Jays were playing as well, so there was a lot happening in the city. What impressed me \u2014 and him \u2014 was that soccer didn\u2019t just compete with those other major sports, it surpassed them. A few years ago, that probably wouldn\u2019t have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marsch, who was Augruso\u2019s most important hire as president, has helped generate some of that buzz during this tournament. Augruso welcomes it. <\/p>\n
\u201cJesse\u2019s a charismatic guy, and I think he\u2019s been great for the sport in this country,\u201d he said. \u201cHe might rub some commentators the wrong way, or certain former players in the United States, but you know what? He\u2019s taught Canadians to believe in themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanadians have always been viewed as polite and respectful \u2014 that\u2019s built into the Canadian psyche. Jesse isn\u2019t trying to take away our Canadian identity, but he has brought an edge to this group. If we want to compete with the best countries in the world, we have to have that edge.\u201d<\/p>\n
It appears that edge has been embraced by all on the pitch. Off the pitch, Canada has emerged as a country with a legitimate soccer culture \u2014 one that will only grow with more moments amongst the movement.<\/p>\n
Of course, the party is always fun while the music is blaring and the people are dancing. What happens when the lights come on and the hangover sets in? Will the momentum continue? Will this moment legitimately become a movement, as Marsch contends?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ll see the impact almost immediately,\u201d Augruso agreed. \u201cRight now, there are roughly three-quarters of a million registered soccer players in this country. Following this World Cup, I\u2019d love to see that number climb to over a million by this time next year. That\u2019s the opportunity in front of us. We\u2019ve created millions of new fans. Now our responsibility is to turn that fandom into participation. We have to inspire young Canadians to believe they can play this game, that they can wear the maple leaf one day, and then make sure they actually have the opportunity to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe excitement is there. The dreams are being created. Now we have to build the pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The promise of growth has been delivered by previous generations of leadership, yet the sport has stalled in Canada on a regular basis. Augruso acknowledges this but also sees the World Cup as a unique opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest things I\u2019ve learned in this role is that it\u2019s not enough to inspire kids to play \u2014we have to make sure we have the facilities to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the country, infrastructure is beginning to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in British Columbia, there are around 20 mini-pitches that have been built. Jumpstart has invested in another 25 community pitches across Canada. Canada Soccer has also started doing its part. We\u2019ve already completed one community pitch project in Atlantic Canada, and we\u2019re looking at another on the West Coast because we want kids, no matter where they live, to have access to the game. But we need much more.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoccer is already the No. 1 participation sport in Canada,\u201d Augruso continued. \u201cI think we have more influence than we sometimes realize. If we work together and advocate collectively, governments will understand that investing in soccer infrastructure isn\u2019t just investing in sport \u2014 it\u2019s investing in communities. That\u2019s how we make sure this momentum lasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Augruso believes the government seems to be waking up to the potential of the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister has been genuinely interested in what\u2019s happening with this team and with soccer in general. He\u2019s seeing first-hand what this World Cup has done for Canadians. At a time when the country can always use something positive to rally around, this team has given people that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katrina LeBlanc, former national team goalkeeper, said something to Augruso that has stayed with him: \u201c\u2019There are only two groups of people who wear the maple leaf \u2014 those who protect it and those who inspire it.\u2019 That\u2019s exactly what this team is doing,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re inspiring Canadians. They\u2019re bringing people together, and that\u2019s something much bigger than football.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is hard to argue. Just walk the streets \u2014 not only in Vancouver and Toronto, but across the country \u2014 and soccer fever has arrived. It is like nothing we have seen before.<\/p>\n
In the short term, supporting local soccer will determine whether this is in fact a movement. Will we see increased attendance at League1 Ontario, the Canadian Premier League, and the Northern Super League?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is absolutely critical,\u201d Augruso said. \u201cWe can\u2019t allow this World Cup to become just a great memory. We have to support our domestic leagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Northern Super League has only been around for a short time and we\u2019re already seeing players coming into our national team environment. That\u2019s exactly what you want. It\u2019s creating opportunities for Canadian players to develop at home. The Canadian Premier League has done the same thing on the men\u2019s side. It has become an important pathway.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want this sport to continue growing, people have to support local soccer. Go watch your local club. Go to a CPL match. Go to an NSL match. Those leagues matter because they\u2019re where the next generation develops.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VANCOUVER \u2014 The morning after a tough-to-swallow loss, you might expect the president of Canada Soccer to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-763281","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\/763281","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=763281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}