Soccer in Canada

January 10, 2006 1:40 PM

What's the deal with soccer (football) in Canada? I'm gonna be in Toronto and I've got The Champion's League, The Premiership, FA Cup and The World Cup to watch.

Are matches easily available to watch on TV? cable? in bars?
Also, I want to play, preferably 5-a-side. Is that popular over there? Will I find a game easily somewhere?

posted by Frasermoo to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Scallywags, near where I live, shows most of them. The screens aren't too big, but the crowd are nice, and it generally attracts a few Brits (I accidentally stumbled into the Scarborough supporters club Xmas party one evening there). Hell, email me and I'll come watch them with you.

Otherwise Sportsnet shows three games every saturday - which is more than non-digital TV seems to show at home in Ireland.
posted by jamesonandwater at 2:05 PM on January 10, 2006

Yes, there are lots of soccer leagues to play in.

As for watching it, yes, there are lots of bars that show soccer. Hop over to the Brazilian/Portuguese part of town on Dundas West. Finding a non-Portuguese-speaking pub that's not showing hockey may be a challenge, but is probably possible - I've never really looked.

Assuming you're over here for a while, get cable TV and there are pay channels for people like you.
posted by GuyZero at 2:06 PM on January 10, 2006

As for five a side, a lot of the expats play so depending what you'll be doing here I'd suggest bring your kit and try to tag along with a colleague. Or email TCSSC and see if you can pick up a couple of games there?
posted by jamesonandwater at 2:10 PM on January 10, 2006

Football here is mostly played in leagues, and mostly by children and teenagers, though there are adult leagues. If you get premium cable packages, you can get it on TV, but otherwise it's a bit tough to find. Some bars in fairly diverse cities (Toronto, Montreal, Calgary) will carry it.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:11 PM on January 10, 2006

Response by poster: Scallywags will be visited then. Looking at the schedule though they start showing games at 7.30 in the morning. That right? Bar.. football....7.30....???? sounds treacherous...
posted by Frasermoo at 2:14 PM on January 10, 2006

The bar The Duke of Gloucester on Yonge just south of Bloor is always open Saturday morning to show Premiership matches. If you stop by during the week you'll see they always having the upcoming matches they're showing posted right at the entrance.

Once the World Cup gets going, soccer coverage is everywhere. You will not having a problem finding a place to watch every game with a bunch of rowdies. During the Euro Cup, one of the big office towers downtown (the Scotia Plaza) set up a projector and showed the games on a huge screen in their lobby for everybody to watch during their lunch breaks.
posted by thecjm at 7:06 PM on January 10, 2006

On digital TV, you can get soccer out the wazoo. Seriously, it is all over the place. Many of the Irish Pubs will show matches during the week, especially the more important matches. During World Cup, don't even worry as it will be ALL OVER the TV. Sportsnet has "Super Soccer Saturday" which has 3 Premiership matches.
posted by antifuse at 1:35 AM on January 11, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks all for the great answers.
posted by Frasermoo at 3:04 AM on January 11, 2006