While it is so incredibly exciting that Toronto will finally be hosting it’s first World Cup game in 2026, it has always been an amazing city to watch the World Cup. Perhaps the best city in the world. 

Since 2006, Joseph Howarth has been documenting the diversity of the city through the passion and love of the beautiful game by seeking out the most passionate fans of soccer.  Of course, this is all going to change in 2026, when Toronto will actually host a World Cup game!

All of the photos on this site were taken during a television broadcast of a FIFA World Cup game in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 or 2022 within the Greater Toronto Area. Each post captures one or many fans of one of each of the countries cheering for their favourite team.

Designed to show the diversity of Canada’s largest city, Joseph Michael contacted bars, embassies, and individuals to find out where one or more fans of each country were going to view their teams play.

All images were taken during a live television broadcast of a World Cup game, with the exception of one country where a re-broadcast was used. As a result, all of the reactions and passions within the photos are live and on location, not recreated or staged after or before the event.

This project presents an alternative to typical Toronto World Cup photos; that is, fans waving flags in the street or viewers caught frozen with a flash. The images in this project use only the natural light provided so as not to interfere with those watching the games or the environment itself. As a result, many of the images are dark, due to the limited light available in darkened viewing areas. Some photos are blurry, due to the frenzy of the games most exciting moments. Joseph Michael felt this was the only way to take truly authentic pictures of viewers watching the World Cup.

Joseph believes Toronto is one of the few cities in which this project could have been completed. Most remarkable is that of the many nations in the 2006, 2010. 2014 and 2018, 2022 World Cup, some of Toronto’s largest ethnic communities, such as the Irish, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani, are not represented.

In 2010 Joseph has two CBC television interviews about his coverage of the world cup in 2006. This first one was featured on CBC Television: Connect with Mark Kelley. It was shot in Scallywags bar on St. Clair West on the opening day of the World Cup, 2010.

In a much different environment, CBC news also invited Joseph to their Toronto studio to do an interview with Anne-Marie Mediwake and actually talk about specific photos he had taken in 2006 and 2010. This interview was conducted on June 14, 2010.

About the Project World Cup in Toronto