Big City Soccer Dreams 2026

Get your kicks and learn something too!

Discover Toronto’s sporting history, especially its multicultural soccer scene, and the power of “the beautiful game” in bringing together and excluding communities.

Moving from Indigenous traditions to early exclusion of women, and into the rise of soccer, we explore how sport has reflected – and shaped – Toronto’s diverse communities. With stories of pioneers and overlooked athletes, you’ll learn about who gets to play, who gets seen, and how that has changed.

This emerging historian tour will be developed and led by Mads Bayliss, a journalist and digital storyteller. After completing an exchange year in Toronto, Mads felt so at home in the rich vibrancy of the city’s culture that they now live here permanently. Mads believes heritage and storytelling can unite communities, and aims to share histories that are often ignored and misrepresented.

This tour takes place at Exhibition Place home to Toronto Stadium (formerly BMO Field) where matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played, and nearby to Fort York and The Bentway, where soccer fans will gather to celebrate.

 

🗓️ Saturday, September 26
🕒 3PM
📍Start: Garrison Common (near Fort York Entrance Gates), End: Centennial Park (14 Saskatchewan Road)

 

Reserve Your Spot