Canada welcomes Ghana, world for FIFA World Cup 2026
World Football Day at the United Nations (UN) on May 25 underscores a compelling reality: the FIFA World Cup 2026™ stands as a powerful testament to what countries can achieve through sustained international cooperation.
Canada, the United States and Mexico will each host matches while delivering the largest and most ambitious World Cup in history.
This achievement reflects not only strong regional coordination but also the depth of partnership increasingly essential for navigating a complex, interconnected world.
Canada is privileged that Ghana's Black Stars will play their first match of the tournament on Canadian soil, facing Panama on June 17 in Toronto, which last year renamed its most iconic public space Sankofa Square, after the Akan concept of learning from the past to build a more inclusive future.
For the more than 100,000 Ghanaians living in Canada, and for all of us who understand that football is not only a game but a way for people to come together, claim space and belong, the symbolism could not be richer.
Canada approaches the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a clear sense of purpose.
As one of only four countries to have hosted both the Women's and Men's FIFA World Cup.
Canada brings experience and a steadfast commitment to inclusive and responsible hosting a tournament that showcases the diversity of its communities, honours the presence and partnership of Indigenous Peoples, and is grounded in mutual respect.
Global Stage
This effort also reflects Canada's broader role on the global stage.
Working closely with partners across borders, Canada contributes to strengthening systems that support security, economic resilience, and people-to-people ties.
These are the foundations not only of a successful tournament, but of long-term stability and shared progress.
Nowhere is that clearer than in the relationship between Canada and Ghana.
Canada was among the first countries to recognise Ghana's independence in 1957, and since then has contributed more than $2.5 billion in development assistance, supporting health systems, food security, and the economic empowerment of women and young people.
Through Canada's Africa Strategy, launched in 2025 with trade expansion as a central pillar, it is working with Ghana to unlock the full potential of a partnership that both sides recognise has room to grow.
And the ties between our countries run through football itself: Canada's first-ever World Cup goal was scored in 2022 by Alphonso Davies, a young man born in a refugee camp in Ghana, whose family found a new beginning in Canada.
His story reflects what both Sankofa and this tournament are about: that where a person comes from need not define where they can go when they are met with openness and inclusion.
Values-driven approach
Canada's pragmatic, collaborative and values-driven approach, on full display in the joint delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, underscores its role as a partner others can depend on, whether advancing global initiatives, strengthening economic ties, or addressing shared challenges.
The lesson of this historic tournament is clear: when trust is established, cooperation deepens – and with it, the foundation for lasting, shared success.
The writer is Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Togo and Sierra Leone.
