Calgarians watched with the rest of the country as Canada made its first appearance at Copa América, being thrown straight into the fire with not a frying pan in sight, having to take on FIFA world champs, Argentina, and the world’s best, Lionel Messi.

June 20, 2024 marked the first time the Canadian men’s national soccer team has ever qualified for the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Copa América. The Canada versus Argentina match was the first game of the 2024 tournament, and took place in Atlanta ending in a 2-0 victory for Argentina. The Calgary Minor Soccer Association (CMSA) held a watch event at the Calgary West Soccer Centre, renamed the Shane Homes West Soccer Dome.

This is not the first time that the CMSA has hosted a watch party having hosted three events prior to this one, including a watch party for Canada’s games in the 2022 FIFA men’s world cup.

“I think it really helps bring the community together and show people in the city that you know, it’s not just a hockey town,” said Richard Ha, marketing and communications manager with the CMSA.

The viewing party hosted for the 2024 Copa América had more than 700 attendees, many of whom were families with kids involved in the CMSA. Bleachers and chairs were set up inside the soccer dome in front of a 19-foot screen.

“The program is really great. It’s quite competitive, it’s a lot of time a week, but the training and the skills the kids get are really good,” said Te-Jay Thompson, one of the parents at the event.

The CMSA represents 32 different member clubs for youth ages 6-19. Founded in 1984 they have been bringing soccer to Calgarians for 50 years now.

“We are making plans at the board level to bring in our 32,000 player in the next couple of years. So the growth of soccer has never been better,” said Lyle Waldren, president of the CMSA.

The watch event included an announcement at half time where the board of directors unveiled the renaming of the soccer dome in collaboration with their 15-year-long partner Shane Homes.

“The goal is to grow minor soccer within the city of Calgary, and we’re doing it here today,” said Shane Wenzel, CEO & President at Shane Homes Group of Companies.

Canada and Copa América

Canada is ranked 48 in the FIFA international rankings, making them the lowest-ranked team in Copa América. The team was founded in 1912 and has since qualified for two FIFA world cup finals: 1986 in Mexico, and 2022 in Qatar. Those tournaments coincidentally account for two of three World Cups won by Argentina who are ranked number one in current standings.

The Copa América was founded in 1916 originally consisting of only South American teams until the 1990’s when teams outside of the continent were invited to qualify. The 10 South American teams that make up CONMEBOL automatically qualify in the tournament that takes place every four years.

The 2024 Copa América was set to take place in Ecuador, based on the CONMEBOL rotation schedule, but the Ecuador soccer federation declined in 2022 due to the ongoing social and political issues in the country. It was decided instead that the United States would host the tournament across 14 cities starting with Atlanta.

Canada now has to play against Peru and Chile within their tournament group. Copa América splits the qualifying teams into groups of four in which every team plays each other once. Teams receive three points for a win and one for a draw, with the two top-scoring teams advancing to the next round.

“​​I mean, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves at this moment. I think if we see success from this national team, then it’s not out of the question that we can throw another party when there’s even more hype and excitement around the team,” said Ha.