Canada Soccer: A world within the team!

It literally took the entire world to help Canada qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar! The Canadian Men’s soccer team created history recently when they booked a berth in the World Cup for the 2nd time in their history. The feat is even more special as the team ranked outside the top 100 of the FIFA rankings just a short while back and the qualification for the World Cup in Qatar is the completion of a perfect underdog story.

All of Canada was rallying behind the team that thrashed Jamaica 4-0 on 27th March at home despite the near-freezing weather conditions and that shows why this team is so dear to the Canadians. This team is not just a result of years of hard work and also the welcoming nature of Canada for immigrants. In 2018 when France won the World Cup, the Didier Deschamps led side was hailed as the team that championed the cause of immigrants with 15 players in that squad had African roots. Compare that to Canada where 22 footballers from the current 25-member National squad are immigrants or born to parents who moved to Canada quite recently.

Atiba Hutchinson who was born to Trinidadian parents in Brampton is the highest capped footballer in Canadian soccer history with 94 appearances for the Maple Leafs. A cult figure of sorts in Canadian soccer, Atiba has inspired a whole new generation of soccer players who want to represent their adopted nation.

Goalkeeper Milan Borjan is another inspiring figure in Canadian soccer. The 34-year-old was born in Croatia but moved to Canadian shores in 2000 as his family was forced to escape the nation due to the Yugoslavian War.

All these men come from diverse backgrounds, different countries and certain beliefs but they all came together over the last 4 years as the Canadian Men’s Soccer team to achieve glory and take their country to their 2nd ever World Cup.

Immigration has been a big part of Canadian foreign policy as the national economy depends heavily on the individuals who migrated looking for new opportunities. But it isn’t just the government’s policy that drives this magnanimous change in outlook. The Canadians were voted as the most racially tolerant society in the world in 2013 in a study conducted in 80 nations by World Values Survey.