Swap the Azzurri kit and slip into something maple-flavored: The Canadian Soccer Association spent Saturday tempting Toronto’s Italian diaspora to trade blue for red and rally behind the home team at the FIFA World Cup.
Italy suffered the agony of missing out on a third straight World Cup last week after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in a playoff. Had they qualified, the four-time world champions would have been in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. Canada are cohosting the tournament with the US and Mexico.
For several hours on Saturday, fans lined up outside a coffee shop in Toronto’s “Little Italy” neighborhood to exchange their blue or white jerseys. They left with Canada’s new red home shirt, but were still allowed to keep their original Italy tops.
Photo: EPA
“Soccer in Canada has been built by generations of players, fans and communities including Italian Canadians who have helped bring the passion for our game to life,” Canadian Soccer Association chief communications and content officer Paulo Senra said. “We want every Canadian — no matter their historic allegiances — to join the momentum around our men’s national team, because this time, it’s Canada.”
About 1.5 million people of Italian origin are living in Canada, 4.3 percent of the population, according to the 2021 census.
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