{"id":769031,"date":"2026-06-29T14:50:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/769031\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:50:21","slug":"toronto-photographer-captures-world-cup-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/769031\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto photographer captures World Cup fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toronto photographer Joseph Howarth has spent every FIFA World Cup capturing the fans, not the players. <\/p>\n

For nearly 20 years, Toronto photographer Joseph Howarth<\/a> has spent every FIFA World Cup chasing a different kind of action. Rather than photographing players on the pitch, he focuses on supporters gathered in bars, restaurants and public watch parties across the Greater Toronto Area, documenting the joy, heartbreak and community that unfold during the 90 minutes of play.<\/p>\n

With Canada co-hosting this year\u2019s tournament, Howarth says his long-running project has reached a new level.<\/p>\n

\"\"World Cup fan 2 Word Cup fan photo, courtesy of Joseph Michael Howarth A tournament transformed by home soil<\/p>\n

Howarth told CTV Your Morning that hosting the World Cup has dramatically changed the atmosphere in Toronto, making it easier than ever to find passionate supporters from around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very different this year,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery year, I\u2019m trying to find all the different countries in the tournament, and it\u2019s sometimes a struggle, some of the smaller countries, but this year, as the host country, the excitement in the city has doubled over so that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howarth said there are now so many celebrations happening across the city that choosing which gathering to photograph has become the biggest challenge.<\/p>\n

\"\"World Cup fan 3 Word Cup fan photo, courtesy of Joseph Michael Howarth A project inspired by fan passion<\/p>\n

The idea for the project began after Howarth experienced the atmosphere surrounding the Rugby World Cup in Ireland, despite knowing little about the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know too much about the World Cup, but I know if I can find the fans, who love this sport, if I can be with them, then I know I\u2019ll grow to love this sport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That belief led him to spend the 2006 World Cup searching for supporters from all 32 competing nations across the GTA. He has continued the tradition ever since, photographing fans from dozens of countries while showcasing Toronto\u2019s multicultural identity.<\/p>\n

\"\"World Cup 4 Word Cup fan photo, courtesy of Joseph Michael Howarth Canada\u2019s fans stand out<\/p>\n

For Howarth, one of the biggest surprises has been Canada\u2019s own supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really cool is the Canadian crowd is the most diverse of all the crowds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Howarth said this year\u2019s tournament has created unforgettable new moments, with large public watch parties bringing together fans from every background.<\/p>\n

\"\"World Cup 5 Word Cup fan photo, courtesy of Joseph Michael Howarth Capturing emotions everyone understands<\/p>\n

While his photographs feature supporters of different teams and cultures, Howarth believes the emotions they capture are universal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you see these photos, everyone can see themselves, because we have all had our sports moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s celebration, hope or heartbreak, he says those shared experiences are what continue to make the project meaningful nearly two decades after it began.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toronto photographer Joseph Howarth has spent every FIFA World Cup capturing the fans, not the players. For nearly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[712,76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-769031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-apple-news","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769031","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=769031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}