The FIFA World Cup is here. What’s happening in the Maritimes?

The 23^rd edition of the FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday and while none of the games will be held in the Maritimes, soccer fans on the East Coast can still enjoy the action.

This year’s FIFA tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19, will be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Canada will be hosting games in Toronto and Vancouver.

As part of the tournament, the Canada Celebrates the FIFA World Cup 2026 event will bring live screenings of games to cities across the country. Halifax will host screenings at the Garrison Grounds at 1 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

“Canada Celebrates will feature live match viewings on large screens, football-themed interactive zones, cultural and music performances, family-friendly activities, local food vendors and community programming,” a news release from the Halifax Regional Municipality reads.

The MacKay Bridge to and from Halifax will be closed from Friday at 9 p.m. to Monday morning, so soccer fans are asked to plan ahead and possibly take Halifax ferries, which will have free fares over the weekend.

Local soccer team the Halifax Wanderers will host the Canada Soccer House, which will offer a giant screen that will feature 29 FIFA games between June 17 and 29. The free event will be held at 1580 Grafton St.

For Wanderers head coach, Vanni Sartini, the World Cup is almost like Christmas Day.

“It’s beautiful to have in our country the best of the best,” he told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis. “There are a ton of exciting teams to watch.

“I think it’s fantastic for a bunch of reasons. It puts football, soccer, whatever you call it, at the centre of the map.”

New Brunswick, P.E.I. events

The Canada Celebrates the FIFA World Cup 2026 event will come to Charlottetown on June 15 and Moncton on June 18.

The YMCA of Fredericton will also host free watch parties at their location at 570 York St. The first party will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Where to watch

If you don’t want to leave the comfort of your home to watch all the action, all 104 tournament matches will be available on TSN, CTV and RDS.

CTV News at 5 and CTV News at 6 will air on CTV2 during World Cup games on:

• June 11
• June 12
• June 18 (CTV News at 6 only)
• June 24
• June 26
• July 7
• July 9
• July 10
• July 14
• July 15