Toronto’s role in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is becoming a showcase for African soccer culture, with three of the city’s five group-stage matches featuring teams from the continent and local diasporas turning match days into broader celebrations.
Ghana has already played in Toronto, beating Panama 1-0 on June 15. Ivory Coast followed with a 2-1 loss to Germany, and Senegal is scheduled to face Iraq in Toronto on Friday. The city could also see another African team in the Round of 32 on July 2, depending on where Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo finish in their groups.
The concentration of African teams in Toronto matters beyond the schedule. For many fans in and around the city, it has brought World Cup football close to communities that often have had to follow their national teams from far away. Akwasi Osei-Tutu, who was heading to the Ghana-Panama match after work downtown, described the chance simply: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
A tournament felt beyond the stadium
The atmosphere around the matches has reflected the reach of Toronto’s African communities. Ghana supporters brought chants, dancing and jama, an upbeat musical style associated with Ghanaian fan culture, into the city’s World Cup week. Brandon Thomas-Asante, who assisted Caleb Yirenkyi’s winning goal against Panama, said supporters recognize the excitement Ghana brings when it appears at the tournament.
Ivory Coast fans also made their presence felt in Toronto despite being outnumbered by German supporters at the match. In the buildup, fans followed the team closely, including sending players off from their hotel and gathering around them during a stop at Dacasto Gran Pasticceria. Ivory Coast supporter Yannick Logbo described a large and energetic fanbase in Ontario, with supporters also meeting at a fan zone in Milton.
Outside the match calendar, Sankofa Square hosted The Global Kickoff, a two-day Pan-African festival and showcase intended to welcome local communities and World Cup visitors. Organizers said the event drew Africans from across the continent, including people whose countries did not qualify for the tournament.
Akua Mensah, the festival’s organizer and program director, linked the festival’s purpose to Toronto’s identity as a global city. “That goes back to how exciting and important it was for the World Cup to come to the city, because we are a world in one city,” she said.
Expansion gives Africa a larger platform
The 2026 World Cup is the first edition with 48 teams, up from 32. The expansion has increased Africa’s presence at the tournament to 10 representatives, including nine automatic qualifiers and DR Congo, which reached the World Cup through an inter-confederation playoff against Jamaica.
That shift is part of why the African presence in Toronto feels especially visible. In 2022, 54 African teams competed through multiple qualifying rounds for five spots, leaving countries including Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Nigeria out of the tournament. This year, Egypt, Algeria and Ivory Coast qualified, while DR Congo added another place through the playoff route.
African teams have also produced notable results across the tournament. DR Congo drew 1-1 with Portugal, Cape Verde held Spain to a 0-0 draw, and Egypt recorded its first World Cup win in Vancouver behind Mohamed Salah. Morocco, which reached the semifinals in 2022, remains the closest an African country has come to winning the World Cup.
For Toronto, the immediate focus is Senegal’s match against Iraq and the group-stage results that will determine whether the city’s African World Cup moment extends into the knockout round. For fans who have filled stadium sections, squares, fan zones and city streets, the tournament has already made African football feel less distant — and more visibly at home.
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