Four days before Canada kicked off its 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar, my Uncle Ed passed away.
He only got to see Canada at the World Cup once. The difference is, he wasn’t watching from the stands or a couch, he was on the bench.
Dr. Ed Johnson, known simply as ‘Uncle Ed’ to my brother Luigi and me, was one of the biggest soccer purists I have ever known. Born in England and devoted to Newcastle United, he settled in Canada, spending 38 years as a doctor.
He also became part of Canadian soccer history.
Uncle Ed was a member of Canada’s team staff at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the country’s first appearance on the world’s biggest stage. Canada lost all three matches and failed to score, but that hardly mattered. Out of just 24 teams, Canada had earned its place.
Growing up, I never fully appreciated how special that was.
To me, he was the guy who showed up every Saturday morning to watch Newcastle on our old 32-inch basement TV because he didn’t have his own, or the uncle who always brought his famous custard pudding to Sunday dinners.
Only later did I realize what he had experienced.
Today, Canada enters its third men’s World Cup ranked 30th in the world. After ending a 36-year drought in 2022, Canada returns with greater expectations. And if I’m being honest, I can’t wait.
I understand the criticism surrounding this tournament. Concerns over public spending, ticket prices, and the overall cost are legitimate. Many fans, myself included, have been priced out.
But maybe that’s why some of the noise feels strange to me.
If you told that 1986 team Canada would one day co-host the men’s World Cup, they’d think you were dreaming. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I already know the spell this tournament casts. I was eight during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
My entire family, soccer fans or not, painted our faces blue, captivated by our Italian heritage for a month. I still vividly remember the Azzurri winning it all on penalty kicks just minutes after Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt.
While Italy heartbreakingly failed to qualify for 2026, that unifying magic stayed with me.
I’ve felt pieces of that excitement here, too.
In 2007, my family drove from Qualicum Beach to Victoria to watch Japan defeat Scotland at the FIFA U20 World Cup at Royal Athletic Park. Eight years later, friends and I took the ferry to Vancouver to watch the United States defeat Nigeria at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The summer of 2026 will create hundreds more of those memories.
Canada plays two of their three group-stage matches in Vancouver, against Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24.
Will I be there? Probably not. But that’s OK.
Because tomorrow (June 12), when Canada finally kicks off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, I’ll be watching.
And somewhere, I like to think Uncle Ed is counting down the minutes right alongside us.
Tony Trozzo is a reporter for Victoria News and a passionate, lifelong soccer fan.