Canada's World Cup run inspires a soccer-hungry nation
Canada's World Cup run inspires a soccer-hungry nation
The Canadian men's national team's time in the World Cup is ending, but their time in the spotlight is really just beginning -- and that's inspiring a nation.
The team crashed out of the tourney Thursday after three hard fought losses in a tough group. But the long-term benefit and exposure gained for the sport during the three matches might've been worth the short-term pain.
"We've left a legacy for the young players to follow through on," defender Sam Adekugbe said. "And ultimately, we're on our way to be a better place.
"We just hope everyone comes with us."
Adekugbe -- who is London-born and Calgary-raised -- had a part in Canada's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Morocco Thursday.
He also may be a perfect role model for the next generation, according to those in the sport.
"We're really proud of Sam," Calgary Minor Soccer Association Executive Director Carlo Bruneau said. "For our community to see that you can come from anywhere and then compete at the highest level on the largest stage in the world, it really gives that 'see it and you can be it' feeling."
Alphonso Davies takes to Instagram to thank his teammates and supporters following Canada's elimination from the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/simAaZPHYl
Soccer is still a growing sport in Canada, and this World Cup will no doubt boost that momentum. Local enrolment is recently up as much as 40 per cent in outdoor leagues and 15 per cent in indoor ones.
The association says some of that can be chalked up to the Canadian men's squad and its thrilling qualification campaign.
"To be involved in the largest sporting event in the entire universe and to see our players compete at the highest level is really going to inspire our community and country to become a football nation," Bruneau said. "It's truly showing a pathway of where you can get to in soccer."
Increased registration in the sport brings funding, which, in turn, brings new, development facilities.
"Buildings (like indoor field Calgary West) provide a good environment and allow us to play our game year round," Calgary West Soccer Technical Director Connor Brady said. "I think all those things add into what is a program that can have some longevity on the world stage."
And so begins a development cycle that could produce the next Adekugbe. Or, at the very least, a cycle that will instil some good life lessons.
"That homegrown talent is important for our kids to see the potential and opportunity," Brady told CTV News. "It's important for them to see that it is possible. (The team was) able to motivate and inspire an entire country, and though it didn't go the way they wanted, that's football.
"Our sport offers us a ton of opportunities to learn those life skills."
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he ordered U.S. officials to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier this week and that national security leaders decided the best time for the operation was when it got over water.
Canadians will continue to bundle up in the country's east this weekend as a recent bout of extreme cold persists in much of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. CTVNews.ca looks at the signs and symptoms for frostbite and hypothermia to watch for if exposed to extreme cold.
A cold snap that triggered Environment Canada alerts involving eight provinces and territories extended into a second day on Saturday, shattering several past temperature records and leaving thousands of customers in Atlantic Canada without power.
The massive white orb drifting across U.S. airspace has triggered a diplomatic maelstrom and is blowing up on social media. A look at what's known about the balloon crossing the U.S. and what isn't.
Eyes were locked on the skies Saturday as a suspected Chinese spy balloon passed over the U.S. Eastern Seaboard -- where local authorities warned civilians against taking potshots with rifles -- before it was shot down when it drifted over the Atlantic Ocean.
Vancouver police say the man recorded hurling profanity and homophobic slurs at a young couple outside a downtown SkyTrain station last weekend has turned himself in.
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he ordered U.S. officials to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier this week and that national security leaders decided the best time for the operation was when it got over water.
The first North Atlantic right whale to be entangled in connection to Canada’s lobster fishery in over five years has been successfully rescued by marine mammal rescue responders in the United States.
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he ordered U.S. officials to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier this week and that national security leaders decided the best time for the operation was when it got over water.
A spokesperson for the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) says Metrolinx began cutting down historic trees at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Saturday before the Ontario Superior Court could hear an injunction to prevent their clearing.
Residents from Quebec to Newfoundland and Labrador are waking up this morning to more extreme cold weather. Emergency officials warned people to seek shelter and monitor for frostbite if they had to be outside overnight, as the temperature across much of Eastern Canada was expected to feel like -40 C to -50 C with the wind chill.
Another property reportedly belonging to a family member of Tony Accurso was the target of an arson attack in Laval early Saturday morning. The Laval fire department responded to a call at 3:22 a.m. about a fire at the building located at 1410 Jaffa Street in the Saint Rose district in the northern part of Laval.
A Quebec university study found that nearly three years of the pandemic have had an effect on the travel habits of Quebecers: even with the partial or complete lifting of restrictions, they increasingly prefer to travel at home. The most recent Cahier des tendances published by the Transat Chair in Tourism at the École des sciences de la gestion de l'UQAM revealed that inflation and health measures hurt many Quebecers.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says more than a dozen groups have filed applications to buy the Ottawa Senators, with a preliminary cut of the potential bidders expected later this month when the initial bids are submitted.
Prince Albert police and the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team seized about $66,000 in cocaine after executing a search warrant on a home in Prince Albert.
An investigation that lasted almost two years has resulted in moose hunting violation convictions for six people and a lodge in Red Lake in northwestern Ontario.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars. W5's documentary 'Buried Evidence' airs Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV.
The owner of Radical Gardens, a restaurant in Timmins said she's experienced nineteen robberies over the last eight years; with the most recent one taking place in the early morning hours Friday.
WINNIPEG -- An Indigenous organization is spearheading efforts to develop a system that could make it easier to flag when a person experiencing homelessness is missing.
Winnipeg police released a new image of a 31-year-old woman who has been missing since early last year on Friday in the hope it may generate new information on her whereabouts.
Regina will soon have two additional ambulances on the road with a full complement of staff. Now other communities in Saskatchewan are calling for more support.
