Canada Soccer announces capacity reduction for 30 January match

Canada Soccer confirmed today that in accordance with all relevant public health guidelines, the capacity for the 30 January FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers match against United States will be reduced to 50% of venue capacity at Tim Hortons Field.  

Due to the reduced capacity of 12,000 spectators, all tickets purchased as part of the original on sale date of 17 December 2021 will be cancelled with full refunds provided to all ticket holders on their credit cards within two to four weeks. Canada Soccer will be in direct contact with all ticket purchasers to provide details on how to access tickets for the 50% reduced capacity configuration.

All ticket purchasers will be provided the opportunity to purchase tickets for the 30 January home match through a dedicated pre-sale window beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday 25 January. A public on-sale will follow on 26 January at 10:00 ET should inventory remain available.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team crucial home match, presented by Oat Canada, comes in the middle of a three-match FIFA window which will open in Honduras on 27 January.  After the Hamilton fixture, Canada will travel to El Salvador for a 2 February away match to close the window.

“We remain excited to bring the Men’s National Team FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers match to Hamilton with the team riding a nation-wide wave of support at the top of the table and we thank all of our fans who helped us sell out Tim Hortons Field back in December and are pushing our team to new heights,” said Dr. Nick Bontis, Canada Soccer President. “We prioritize the safety of all players, staff and fans and want to acknowledge the diligent and ongoing work, not only these past few weeks, but throughout the Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, of our partners at all levels of government to ensure that we are able to play in front of our fans on home soil.”

Enhanced public health and safety measures will be in place at Tim Hortons Field including fans attending the match being required to provide proof of vaccination (QR code and double dose), pass through active screening upon entry, wear masks (unless eating or drinking), practice social distancing, remain in their seats unless using washrooms or purchasing food and beverage, and avoid congregating in common areas.

The match will be the first time Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team have played an International ‘A’ match in Hamilton, Ontario. The Women’s National Team last played in Hamilton against Germany in an International ‘A’ Friendly in 2018. All matches in Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team World Cup Qualifiers will be broadcast LIVE on OneSoccer, including TELUS channel 980, onesoccer.ca, Sportsnet and RDS.

Canada sits undefeated at the top of the table in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after their back-to-back victories at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, AB with a 2:1 victory over visiting Mexico on 16 November and a 1:0 victory over Costa Rica on 12 November. The win moved Canada into first place with 16 points from eight matches (4-4-0) ahead of USA (15 points), Mexico (14 points) and Panama (14 points).
 
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
 
Canada has built plenty of momentum in a landmark year for the Men’s National Team Program that featured a record 19 international matches including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the Concacaf Gold Cup. Canada have posted a record of 13-4-2 with nine clean sheets and a record 55 goals scored. Canada also set a record with eight consecutive wins and reached the Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2007.
 
Canada have played eight of their 14 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in the Concacaf Final Round from September through November 2021: three matches in September, three matches in October, and two matches in November. In 2022, Canada will play three more matches in January/February and three more matches in March. Along with Honduras, USA and El Salvador, Canada’s other opponents in the Concacaf Final Round are Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama.
 
To reach the Concacaf Final Round, Canada won their First Round group against Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Suriname, then eliminated Haiti in a head-to-head Second Round series. This marks the first time since 1997 that Canada have reached the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. From the Concacaf Final Round of eight nations, the top-three nations automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and the fourth-best nation advance to an inter-continental playoff for additional FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™Qualifiers.
 
Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are two-time Concacaf champions, previously winning the 1985 Concacaf Championship and 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. This year marked Canada’s 15th participation at the Concacaf Gold Cup since 1991. Along with their first-place finish in 2000, Canada reached the Semifinals in 2002, 2007, and 2021. Across the past five years from 2017 to 2021, Canada are one of only four nations that finished top-six across all four Concacaf major tournaments: fifth place in Concacaf Nations League A, sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups, and a semi-final finish at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.