Canadians ‘opened their arms to the world,’ FIFA vice-president says

FIFA vice president and co-chair of the FIFA World Cup Victor Montagliani joins Your Morning Vancouver to talk about the excitement ahead of today’s game.

Despite the naysayers, FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani says he knew Canada had a shot at hosting the World Cup from the beginning.

The CONCACAF president, who grew up in East Vancouver, was one of the leading voices behind Canada’s bid in 2012, and now the vision is coming to fruition 14 years later.

“I think our country is built on immigrants, and this sport really reflects that,” he told CTV Your Morning Vancouver on Thursday, ahead of Team Canada’s first match in the city.

“The hardest challenge was making sort of the leaders of certain institutions understand what this could mean, but to their credit they bought in…and obviously now we’re seeing the fruits of that labour.”

He said Vancouver and Toronto have done a tremendous job at transforming into world-class soccer destinations, not just in the stadium but around the city at viewing parties and in the streets.

“It’s not just about our Canada games, it’s about every game, even games (where) the common person thinks, ‘How’s that a marquee matchup?’ Well, guess what, for a lot of people in our country, it’s a marquee matchup,’ he said.

“I think this country has really, as I thought they would, just opened their arms to the world.”

While there are plenty of free and low cost ways to watch the World Cup matches, getting into the stadium comes at an extremely steep price, higher than previous tournaments and unaffordable for most fans.

Montagliani said that’s the reality of the North American market and FIFA compared ticket prices for other major events like the NBA finals and Stanley Cup.

“Every game is sold out. The reality is, people will consume a market. This is the biggest sporting event probably in the history of the world. It’s going to be what it’s going to be,” he said.

“I hear that, and I actually understand (criticisms), but the reality is, is that this is what these marquee events are now in today’s modern entertainment and modern sports.”

Montagliani knows the tournament will showcase Vancouver to the world, but he believes the biggest legacy will be for the sport of soccer itself in Canada.

He says Canada is a “significant and relevant player on the world stage for the world’s biggest game”—and if the team gets three points on Thursday that will prove it.

“I think our boys will rise to the occasion.”