Canada Soccer General Secretary Peter Montopoli Appointed Chief Operating Officer Canada for FIFA World Cup 2026™

FIFA announced today that long serving Canada Soccer General Secretary Peter Montopoli has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer Canada for FIFA World Cup 2026™ effective 1 December.

“On behalf of Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors, staff and member associations, I would like to express our deepest appreciation to Peter for his passionate and transformational leadership during his tenure as the organization’s eleventh General Secretary,” said Dr. Nick Bontis, President, Canada Soccer. “In his role, Peter has overseen the organization’s modernization and established a solid foundation for Canada Soccer to optimize the opportunity of hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026™. We wish him all the best in his new role and look forward to working closely with him through 2026.”

Canada Soccer has established itself on and off the pitch during Montopoli’s tenure with the strengthening of the professional soccer landscape, hosting of record-setting attended National Team and FIFA and Concacaf competitions, and unlocking of the potential of the National Teams including the Women’s National Team Gold Medal performance at Tokyo 2020 and Men’s National Team advancement to the Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the first time since the 1998 FIFA World Cup France™. 

“It has been a privilege to hold the position of General Secretary for Canada Soccer for the past 14 years and be part of the unprecedented growth of our sport from coast to coast. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Canada Soccer Board of Directors, past and present, as well as the committed staff and member associations who have contributed to the evolution of Canada Soccer Nation,” said Peter Montopoli, Chief Operating Officer Canada, FIFA World Cup 2026™. “I would like to thank FIFA for the opportunity to be a part of the once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead Canada’s co-hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ along with Mexico and the United States and I very much look forward to working with all stakeholders to deliver the world’s largest single sporting event.”

Montopoli served as Canada’s Bid Director for the successful United 2026 Bid to host the FIFA World Cup™ alongside our neighbours Mexico and the United States. He also oversaw the staging of the extremely successful FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ in the capacity of CEO for the National Organising Committee. The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ saw Canadian and FIFA attendance records set with over 1.35M cumulative spectators, the largest attended FIFA competition outside of the FIFA World Cup.

“Having served as the Head Coach for both the Men’s and Women’s National Teams, the impact that Peter has had in unleashing the potential for both programs success may not be as well known as the results on the pitch, but cannot also not be underestimated,” said John Herdman, Men’s National Team Head Coach. “His steadfast leadership and unwavering commitment to the sport’s growth in our country will be well placed in his new role with the FIFA World Cup 2026™.”

Montopoli first joined Canada Soccer in 2005 when he took on the role of National Event Director for the highly successful FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, drawing a then record 1.2M cumulative spectators. He also served as an Assistant General Coordinator at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and General Coordinator at both the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ in Rustenburg.