Kamloops World Cup watch parties score big as hundreds turn up to watch Canada at Riverside Park

“The boys texted me early in the morning saying, ‘Yo, you want to come out and watch some soccer?’ and I was like, ‘Hell yeah! Let’s go represent our country,'” added another.

All 104 games of the tournament – which runs June 11 to July 19 – will be shown for free on a large screen at the Rotary bandshell, after the city scored $90,000 in provincial funding.

“It’s going awesome,” Andrew Smeaton, the city’s business operations and events supervisor, told CFJC Today. “We’re so excited to see the community come out and participate in the Riverside watch parties and enjoy the game of football – or soccer, if you will.”

“It’s a great idea,” one event attendee said of the city’s initiative. “It’s amazing. We’re going to try and come out and watch as many as we can and enjoy the atmosphere for sure.”

“It’s great to see everybody out,” another added. “It’s nice to see the community supporting it and what a better way to spend a Friday afternoon.”

A sea of mostly red and white watching Canada take on Bosnia and Herzegovina at Riverside Park on June 12, 2026. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds/CFJC Today)

There will be four community activation days as part of the festivities – June 12, June 24 when Canada plays Switzerland and for the World Cup Final on July 19. Another one is tentatively scheduled between June 28 and July 2, depending on whether Canada advances and what day they play.

These community activation days will feature a beer garden, food trucks, football-themed activities, giveaways, live music and more.

The city is also one of 34 stops on the FIFA’s cross-Canada celebration tour. That event will take place on June 18, the same day Canada plays Qatar at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

The city’s Responsible Liquor Consumption Program will be suspended on days when Canada is playing, but otherwise people will be able to consume their own alcohol to the park. Food trucks are also expected to be on-site on non-Canada gamedays, though schedules are subject to changes.

“We really thought, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the World Cup here in Canada and so we thought, ‘Let’s do something special in our park and in our community to bring the game home,'” Lyle Dos Santos, the general manager of Kamloops United Football Club, said.

“It’s everything we hoped for so far,” added Smeaton. “We would love to, of course, see Canada [beat Bosnia and Herzegovina] so that’s the big thing that we’re hoping for right now.”

That didn’t happen, but Canada picked up its first ever point at the tournament after substitute Cyle Larin scored in the 78th minute to cancel out Jovo Lukic’s opening goal that was scored in the 21st minute.

Smeaton added the watch parties are all about bringing people of different cultures together to watch the beautiful game and to spend time together as community.

“It’s about having people come out and celebrate their country of origin or their team and show up proud so we can all support each other and the diversity we have in Kamloops,” he said. “It’s so cool to see all of the different cultures come out and celebrate.”

Added Dos Santos, “It’s an exciting time for the game with the Canadian national team competing at the highest level both on our men’s and women’s sides. It really is an exciting opportunity to grow the game.”

by Victor Kaisar

Kamloops World Cup watch parties score big as hundreds turn up to watch Canada at Riverside Park

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