A national pastime: CBC airs Soccer Day in Canada

Call it the greatest sport on earth, call it the beautiful game, call it whatever you like. Just don’t forget to call it the Canadian game, too.
Canada is quickly building an affinity for the game of soccer, or football as it is known all over the world. With the inauguration of a Major League Soccer team in Canada, the recent success of the men’s national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the tremendous fan interest for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, soccer is boldly stamping its place on the Canadian map.
This Sunday, before the Canada-Congo U-20 match, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation will televise the first annual Soccer Day in Canada. The soccer celebration will kickoff at 13.00 MT (15.00 ET). It will be followed by two matches: the Portugal-Gambia match from Montréal, QC and then the Canada-Congo match from Edmonton, AB.
Soccer Day in Canada broadcast will follow four different locations: Edmonton, AB (where the New Zealand-Mexico and Canada-Congo matches will be played); St. John’s, NL (with curling Olympic gold medalist Brad Gushue playing in a celebrity match); Laval, QC (at the Laval Cup); and Vancouver, BC (with members of the Canadian women’s team making a special appearance).
Along with the live stations, there will be numerous soccer stories that showcase the beautiful game in the rest of the country. Those stories are: Island Games (a Prince Edward Island women’s team heads to the International Island Games); the Ultimate Soccer Mom (featuring Jean Fetsch); FIFA Escorts (starring a 12-year old Ottawa girl); and Homeless Soccer (highlighting a team heading to the World Cup of Homeless Soccer).
Of course, a big part of Soccer Day in Canada will be Canada’s third match in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007. After back-to-back losses to Chile and Austria, Canada must win for a chance to advance. Canada can only finish as high as third place in their group, so they must hope that their win is strong enough to place them amongst the top four third-place finishers from the six groups.