Canadian soccer’s ‘man of people’ thinks big
Steve Reed’s existence is surprisingly ordinary for a FIFA Congress member who just last week rubbed shoulders with soccer’s elite.
The same man who helped secure Canada’s World Cup bid has, for the time being, moved on to other pressing issues: Finding Airbnb hosts and taking in World Cup fixtures using seats he himself purchased with his own cash.
Indeed, the Canadian Soccer Association’s top boss is, as he put it, “a man of the people,” though he did lament wearing jeans to our morning rendezvous upon being asked to appear on camera.
The Probka Cafe, just across the river from St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Palace Square, was the setting for our hour-long exchange about everything from the 2026 tournament to his vision of Canada one day having its own national training centre.
“We use sites in Vancouver or Toronto or Montreal, where we’re just borrowing from someone else,” Reed said.
The French have Clairefontaine. England has St. George’s Park.
Even smaller footballing nations like Iceland have set aside high-quality training centres to develop players.
“I’d love for that to happen,” Reed added. “It’s not on the board right now, but on a longer-term basis, as a legacy, I think that would be unbelievable for (Canada) to have that kind of facility.”
One of the United bid’s selling points, of course, was the projection to deliver FIFA enough cash to fill two dozen Brinks trucks.
“We believe (2026) is going to be the most successful World Cup ever in terms of the finances,” Reed explained.
“That feeds into (every FIFA member’s) programming. A lot of them rely totally on FIFA Forward funds.”
The estimated US$11 billion in profits could conceivably see FIFA members’ coffers expand tenfold to help build — cough, cough — facilities and grow the women’s game or provide opportunities for youth worldwide.
The financial opportunity the United bid presented was supported by the certainty of having Canada, the U.S. and Mexico host the continent’s first men’s World Cup since 1994.
Nobody was surprised last week when Canada’s co-bid easily dispatched its only opposition, Morocco, by a lopsided vote count of 134-65.
The real surprise arrived months earlier when B.C.’s provincial government pulled Vancouver from the bidding process during what Reed called “the 11th hour.”
“People were really surprised and disappointed. People were taken aback that it happened,” Reed said of Vancouver’s exclusion
“At the end of the day we had strong support from the City of Vancouver … but the provincial government just wouldn’t sign off on the agreements.”
The province painted FIFA as a corrupt, moneyhungry organization chasing a “blank cheque” they refused to hand over, largely for uncertain security costs.
While the NDP government’s catchphrase undoubtedly played to its base, the decision — perhaps out naivete, perhaps for political gain — ignored the fact Vancouver had unequivocal success hosting previous FIFA events.
The Women’s World Cup produced $150 million in economic activity in that city alone.
What’s more, FIFA was prepared to pay a rental fee for the months-long use of Canada’s premier stadium.
There was talk of BC Place potentially hosting matches beyond the Round of 16 due to the allure of a venue that’s the centrepiece of one of Canada’s most attractive cities.
“A question we get asked quite often is, ‘Can Vancouver come back into the bid?’ ” Reed added.
“The answer is no. We’ve submitted, for Canada, the three candidate host cities.”
Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton join 17 candidate host cities from the U.S. and Mexico to form the “unity” Canada’s bid team submitted to the FIFA members last week.
“The only questions that arose were (fans) gaining access to (all three) countries,” Reed said.
“People didn’t have a discussion around (U.S. President Donald Trump’s) political statements, but they did have concerns and questions about gaining access to the country.
“In particular, the U.S. government made some very, very strong guarantees and statements about access to the visa process.”
The United bid also provides a blueprint for future World Cups.
“We’re setting a new framework for others,” Reed suggested. “Some smaller nations (know they) can get together (and bid to host a World Cup).”
The United bid compelled Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to express interest in co-bidding for 2030.
The United Kingdom also is reportedly weighing another run at hosting.
Term limits will prevent Reed from retaining office through the next two cycles, of which he said Qatar 2022 is top of mind right now.
He did, however, add he hopes to retain a role with Canada’s bid group following his stay as CSA president, an unpaid position.
For now, he’s still in Moscow, on his own dime, enjoying some of the tournament with his wife and asking your correspondent for directions to Saint Petersburg stadium.
He just hopes getting tickets in 2026 will be easier.