Introduction
Soccer has never been the most popular sport to play in Canada; however, it is only on the rise. Firstly, I would like to cover how Canadian soccer is growing, as well as the trends for the future years. Many Canadians still do not recognize soccer as a major sport in this country; however, it seems that that is destined to change within the next decade or so. Moreover, the FIFA World Cup on the way to Canada in less than five years time, I want to discover how the popularity of the sport will be influenced by this upcoming event.
I intend to research as to why the sport is not very popular, what programs are in place to aid its growth, the current statistics of the sport and the future trends of how popular this sport projects to be in the future. Apart from this, I would like to include a story told through images based upon facility development locally here in Kamloops. Lastly, I also desire to bring in a guest who has sport event management experience or a member of the FIFA World Cup Staff to gather more data about major sporting events.
Rationale
The biggest sporting event in the world, known as the FIFA World Cup, is coming to Canada in 2026. I believe that with the recent success of the national team and a major tournament looming, this should only generate an increasing amount of interest for the next few years. This sport is the largest sport played globally throughout the world, as it conveniently requires very limited equipment to be played.
Media Questions to Explore
- How has soccer grown so fast in other regions of the world, but not Canada?
- What development programs are in place to help the sport flourish?
- How many Canadians currently play organized soccer? Which demographics? (Age/Gender)
- What does the future of The Beautiful Game look like up north?
Potential Story Ideas
There is a story I read titled “A comparison of the soccer talent development systems in England and Canada.” I feel as if this would be interesting to compare England, which is essentially the mecca of soccer, versus Canada where the sport does not compare. I would like to use this article to relate it to local youth/adult soccer programs here in Kamloops.
I would like to interview or speak with someone who is involved in the planning process of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this would provide insight into what goes into providing an engaging event particularly for a region that is less interested in the sport.
Media Outline
I would like to tell the story of the development of the local soccer facilities in Kamloops, for example, how was the Kamloops Soccer Dome built? Who built it? What was the intended purpose? What are its main features? Have any well known athletes trained in this facility? What programs do they offer? Furthermore, are there plans to build more soccer-specific facilities in the next few years?
This suits the media because a major part of development stems from the available resources. Without proper infrastructure, equipment and staff, there is no opportunity for an increase in development in the sport. I feel like this can be extremely informative to the audience, as it will show readers what an idea can grow into. It would be most effective to show this as a timeline, with photos that show the construction process and the building initiatives taken by the creators.
Audio Interview Idea
I have planned to reach out to staff from the FIFA World Cup 2026, specifically the planning committee or staff that are responsible for event coordination. This will be crucial to my project as these people specialize in engagement events which can further the development of the sport within the country. I believe this would be most effective as an audio interview
