REGINA — Since 1996, Canadian soccer has had a group of supporters following national team players all over, but for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, they don't have to leave their continent.
Regina business owner Rob Notenboom is the current president of the Voyageurs, the official supporters group for Canadian soccer, and he says the atmosphere has been electric for the World Cup. Notenboom went to games involving Canada in Vancouver and Toronto in the group stage.
"You saw it and felt it everywhere," he said back home in Regina. "I walked through Gastown [in Vancouver] on a non-Canada soccer day, and every pub had people spilling out of it, watching games. kits of their home nations on … you could tell tons and tons of people had travelled in."
Vancouver police estimated there were 10,000 people out for a supportive fan march before the game against Qatar.
The group began in the mid 1990s, as the Internet brought together individual fans and smaller supporters groups together. By the end of the decade, the group had expanded its membership greatly.
Over the decades, the Voyageurs have sponsored trophies for domestic competitions and players, spending money out of their own pockets on trips to different continents and Central America to show support for the national teams.
So suffice it to say, Notenboom was thrilled with the atmosphere as Canada hosted games for the first time in the tournament's history.
"It's hard to know also some times how far to trust it all, it's really interesting to see the outpouring of support from outside our group," he said.
"I think we all felt that we were the only people that cared in Canada for a very long time, and now it seems like the rest of the country is waking up to this as well."
Canada is battling Morocco July 4 in the round of 16, but the team has already captured the country's imagination.
Voyageurs membership can be obtained through their website.
