FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met newly elected Canadian Soccer Association President Peter Augruso at FIFA’s office in Paris, France, ahead of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament at the 2024 Summer Games. Mr. Augruso officially took on his new role in May having served as Chair of Ontario Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2018 and having been involved in football administration in the province for over a decade. Mr. Infantino congratulated his Canadian counterpart on his election and underlined the importance of the new Canada Soccer President’s experience in the game with the North American country already preparing to co-host the FIFA World Cup 26™.

“It was great to meet the new Canada Soccer President Peter Augruso and have the chance to congratulate him, as well as discuss the crucial role he and his team have to play in what is a pivotal moment for football in the country,” said the FIFA President. “The women’s team stands a chance of winning successive Olympic gold medals in football, whilst preparations are in full swing for the greatest-ever FIFA World Cup in 2026, which his country will co-host with Mexico and the United States. I am confident that President Augruso's experience and love for the game will be vital as he guides his organisation towards the most inclusive FIFA World Cup yet.”

“It was my honour to meet President Infantino today and talk about the upcoming [FIFA] World Cup in 2026,” said Mr. Augruso, who also met FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström. “Currently, preparations are going smoothly — nothing seems to be a sticking point. We’re looking to welcome the world to the most multicultural country in the world, in Canada. “And so, we’re going to showcase what we have that’s Canadian, that's different from the rest of the world, and we’re looking forward to welcoming the world again to Toronto and Vancouver. And when folks get to Canada, [they can] spread their wings a little bit and travel to other parts of the country. It’s a beautiful country, and we welcome the entire world to join us in 2026. It will be a party, but there will also be some great football matches.”

With the support of funding from the FIFA Forward Development Programme, Canada Soccer launched the Canadian Premier League in 2019 with the goal of developing Canadian players in time for the FIFA World Cup 26, notably establishing rules that favour the use of U-21 players.

Additionally, Canada is working on a Youth Competition Network, seeking to expand football’s reach in the country, reshape national youth competitions and introduce a new competition centred around the Player Development Programme. This is an exciting time for Canada Soccer. They are also launching a new professional women’s league, the Northern Super League, in 2025. Mr. Augruso hopes the project will be given a kickstart by Canada’s senior women’s national team achieving further success when the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament kicks off on 25 July after they claimed bronze and gold medals across the last two Summer Games.

“The women’s success has actually been what’s driven soccer in our country,” he said. “It has opened up the floodgates for us; we have a new league, the Northern Super League, starting in 2025, that is going to be a professional women’s league. “And we’re looking forward to helping and assisting in whichever way we can, and I talked to President Infantino a little bit about the Northern Super League and their goals in starting off with six teams in 2025. So, we look forward to the Olympic success again this year and building on that for the women’s professional league in Canada.”