Canada's World Cup watch parties coming to Eau Claire
City and local soccer teams hosting three watch parties for Canada games downtown, plus one for the tournament final.
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Calgary is organizing three watch parties for Canada's World Cup games at Eau Claire Plaza downtown, in collaboration with the Calgary Minor Soccer Association, Wild FC, and Cavalry. A fourth party will be hosted on Stephen Avenue for the tournament final on July 19.
Team Canada takes on Bosnia in its opening match Friday. Games will be shown on a big LED screen, with a kids' fan zone on site.
"Downtown is Calgary's living room," said Kate Zago, a planner with the city's downtown strategy unit. "We thought this is a great opportunity to showcase the plaza and have a great event down there."
The watch parties arrive as minor soccer continues to grow in the city. According to the CMSA's annual report, there were nearly 32,000 youth minor soccer players in the 2024-25 season, a five per cent increase from the previous year.
"Soccer in Calgary has never been stronger, and we're earning that reputation as a soccer city," said Leslie MacLeod, CMSA marketing manager. "The excitement around the game, we're feeling this momentum build within our youth soccer community."
Local businesses are also joining the festivities. Sumaq, a Peruvian restaurant on 17th Avenue Southwest, is hosting watch parties despite Peru not making the tournament. "We welcome everybody from all different countries," said owner Ignacio Sinfon. "Soccer is an opportunity to be all together — the game can only be 90 minutes, but we can stay five hours."