Hosting the World: How Canada is Communicating Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

By Mohammad Akkawi, VP, Professional Development & Networking, IABC/Toronto

What does it take to prepare a city for the world’s biggest sporting event? Mohammad Akkawi recaps a recent IABC/Toronto event, “Communication on the World Stage: Positioning Canada as a Global Tourism Destination ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026.” At the event, industry experts explored how communications, tourism and brand strategy helped to shape Canada’s FIFA World Cup 2026 story.

Canada has stepped onto one of the biggest stages in global sport.

From June 11 to July 19, 2026, FIFA World Cup 2026 is bringing together 48 national teams across 16 host cities in North America in the tournament’s largest edition yet. Canada is hosting 13 matches across Toronto and Vancouver, including the country’s first-ever men’s FIFA World Cup match on home soil when Toronto welcomed Canada’s opening match on June 12.

But long before the first whistle, the tournament was already shaping conversations across the country.

Toronto expects more than 45,000 spectators per match, while the FIFA Fan Festival at Fort York and The Bentway is projected to welcome up to 20,000 visitors on operational days. Questions around visitor experience, tourism demand, economic impact and how host cities present themselves under global attention were increasingly becoming part of the build-up.

That broader conversation formed the backdrop of IABC/Toronto’s recent panel discussion, Communicating on the World Stage: Positioning Canada Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026, which brought together leaders across communications, tourism and brand strategy to explore a question that extends well beyond matchday: what does it really take to prepare a city to host the world?

Preparing a city without pressing pause

For Russell Baker, Director, Media Relations & Issues Management at the City of Toronto, preparing for FIFA starts with recognizing that the tournament will arrive in a city that continues to operate at full speed.

Unlike many major sporting events where activity centres around a venue footprint, Toronto will continue hosting concerts, festivals and everyday city life alongside matches and fan experiences.

“This is the largest event the city has ever hosted,” Baker said during the discussion, describing preparations that extend beyond event delivery and focus on ensuring residents and visitors continue experiencing the city at its best.

Unique challenges of communicating at scale

The role is no longer limited to promoting schedules or issuing updates. It becomes about helping multiple organizations communicate consistently, ensuring visitors feel welcomed and giving residents confidence that they remain connected to the city during a period of heightened global attention.

Baker reflected on lessons taken from previous citywide moments and highlighted the importance of coordinated communications structures that allow operational and communications teams to align messaging and respond quickly when required.

The discussion highlighted that hosting an event of this scale extends beyond match operations and requires coordination across multiple parts of the city experience.

Turning global attention into long-term impact

If city teams are focused on readiness, destination teams are focused on what happens afterwards.

Kathy Motton, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at Destination Toronto, framed tourism as something broader than occupancy rates and visitor numbers.

Motton described tourism as an export and highlighted that major events create opportunities that continue well beyond tournament weeks by influencing future travel decisions and shaping how people perceive a destination.

That perspective feels particularly relevant as conversations ahead of the tournament increasingly extend beyond match schedules and attendance forecasts. For tourism leaders, the opportunity is not only about attracting visitors during tournament weeks but about using the global spotlight to strengthen Toronto’s position as a destination long after the final whistle.

Destination Toronto plans to use the attention surrounding the World Cup to showcase neighbourhoods, local experiences and stories that reflect the city beyond football, reinforcing Toronto’s positioning as “The World in a City” and the diversity that defines the visitor experience.

Motton reflected on Toronto’s positioning with a message rooted in inclusion.

“Our message has always been simple. You can come here and see yourself reflected in the city. You are welcome here.”

It was a message that reflected a broader theme throughout the evening.

Football may create the initial reason to visit, but the destination experience often shapes what people remember afterwards.

Beyond sponsorship: competing for attention

The conversation also explored how brands are approaching one of the most crowded communications moments in the world.

For Gabrielle Totesau, Vice President at Weber Shandwick, the World Cup offered brands an opportunity to connect with audiences in ways that feel culturally relevant rather than purely visible.

“We have a really unique opportunity for brands to show up in fun and unexpected ways,” Totesau said.

She added that the opportunity is not simply about visibility but about “engaging with our consumers in a meaningful way” and using the platform to tell stories audiences do not always get to see or hear.

That thinking was echoed by Jennifer Stein, Senior Vice President at APEX Public Relations, who reflected on how brands are increasingly looking beyond host venues and finding ways to connect with audiences across the country.

“How do we get outside of Toronto?” Stein said, describing how brands are increasingly thinking nationally rather than focusing solely on the host city.

One example came from Nitish Bissonauth, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at Hyundai Canada, who reflected on how major sporting moments can create opportunities to connect brand activity with broader social impact initiatives.

“For us, this represents more than football,” Bissonauth said. “We want to use the world stage to shine a light on an issue that many people do not know about.”

Rather than focusing solely on visibility, Bissonauth described the World Cup as an opportunity to connect national excitement around Team Canada with broader social impact and storytelling.

Collectively, the discussion reflected a broader shift in sports communications, where visibility still matters but audiences increasingly expect brands to create experiences and contribute meaningfully to the moment.

Looking beyond the final whistle

As the discussion turned to legacy, the focus shifted from operations to outcomes. While delivery, visitor numbers and media attention remain important, the panel repeatedly returned to a broader question: what will people remember?

Baker reflected on success as creating an environment where people feel part of something memorable and leave with positive impressions of both the event and the city. That perspective connected many of the themes discussed throughout the evening, from future visitation and meaningful participation to coordination and trust.

Ultimately, the discussion pointed to a shared ambition: that when the world arrives in Canada, visitors leave remembering more than the matches. They remember the experience of the city, the stories they discovered and the feeling of being part of something bigger than the tournament itself.