The excitement surrounding Canada's FIFA World Cup appearance is reaching beyond television screens, with Barrie Soccer Club seeing a surge of interest from families looking to get their children involved in the sport.
The club says registrations have increased roughly 21 per cent year-over-year for the past three seasons, representing nearly 80 per cent growth over that span. Executive director Will Devellis expects the trend to continue as excitement surrounding the tournament reaches local families.
"When you have major events like this in soccer, we start to see like larger registration numbers as kids are getting more interested in soccer and wanting to play the game," he said in an interview with Barrie360. "Everyone's glued to their TVs, so then everyone wants to be a part of it."
Devellis says a FIFA World Cup typically creates a registration bump of around five to eight per cent, but believes Canada's role as co-host has added even more of a boost to the sport locally.
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That increased interest reflects a broader rise in soccer's popularity across Canada.
According to Numeris, nearly 31.5 million people — or 77 per cent of Canada — watched the tournament at some point this summer, up from 71 per cent in 2018 and 68 per cent in 2022. Meanwhile, Canada Soccer's social media platforms gained a total of over one million followers between May 27 and July 8 and Abacus data also shows that soccer is the No. 2 sport for all Canadians, and No. 1 among Canadians aged 18-29.
Devellis says the club entered the summer expecting renewed interest in baseball following the Toronto Blue Jays' American League championship in October, just as it saw a decline in registrations following the Toronto Raptors' NBA championship in 2019.
"The World Cup salvaged that, not just for us, but for any soccer organization," Devellis said. "Part of that also is the fact that the city of Barrie is growing... we are seeing emails or phone calls every week with people saying, 'hey, we're moving to the city, do you have time or do you have space for my child to play? Is there a team that they can play on?'"
The club has used the strategy of combining some age groups in an effort to create more teams with smaller rosters, ensuring every player gets an equal opportunity.
However, a surge in registrations has forced the club to go through some growing pains.
"It's difficult to keep up at times because you need more volunteers, you need more coaches, you need more facilities, you need more equipment," Devellis says. "It's a really great problem to have and we're navigating through it, but we look at it like we don't want to turn any kids away."
Devellis says Barrie Soccer Club has provided incentives for coaches to come forward, which has been successful so far.
Although registration numbers are not yet available for summer 2026, the organization is expecting explosive growth ahead of the fall season, with the U9 to U13 age groups being the most popular.
The growth of soccer in Barrie extends beyond youth participation. The BSC-owned Simcoe County Rovers women won their second consecutive league title, while the announcement of Toronto FC II relocating to Barrie with a new stadium has furthered excitement around the sport.
That growth has also increased demand for more space.
Barrie Soccer Club has committed $7.2 million in private funds to renovate its clubhouses and outdoor fields at its Springwater headquarters and install an air-supported dome facility connected to the existing building.
The dome, on pace to open in fall 2027, will have a full-size artificial turf field, allowing for indoor programming and for both the Simcoe County Rovers men's and women's squads to have a training hub over the winter months.
"We're the lowest on the totem pole when we're renting out-of-municipality and we don't always get the times or the amount of time that we need," Devellis said. "(With a new dome) we can do it all right here in our own backyard."
Devellis says construction is expected to begin this fall.
The club is also in preliminary talks to have the dome serve as an indoor training facility for the incoming Barrie MLS Next Pro team, as well as potential opportunities for the BSC and the Rovers to use the stadium when it's operational.
It sees the arrival of professional soccer in Barrie as another opportunity to build a pathway for local players from youth programs to the professional level.
—with files from the Canadian Press
