BRAMPTON, Ont. - Canada’s unofficial football factory? None other than Brampton, Ont.
Just northwest of Toronto, the suburban city of roughly 800,000 residents is where a group dubbed the Brampton Six began their journey. These Canadian soccer stars are now inspiring a new generation.
Canadian men’s national team midfielders Jonathan Osorio, Tajon Buchanan, Liam Millar and Jayden Nelson, as well as forwards Cyle Larin and Promise David, are all from Brampton.
That’s nearly a quarter of Canada’s men’s national team, making Brampton the top producer of talent, ahead of larger urban centres like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
“We just tell everybody to drink the water. The water is great in Brampton,” said Brampton Soccer Club executive director Paula Phillips with a laugh. She recalls all six playing the game from a young age.
“They started out in our grassroots program, in house league. They started out just because they wanted to kick the ball,” said Phillips.
From there, she says the players were pushed in a positive direction by coaches, clubs and parents, as well as extended family members and neighbours, calling it a community effort.
“You know what they say: ‘it takes a village.’ Well, we’re part of that village,” said Phillips.
In a packed Garden Square in the city’s downtown on Wednesday, hundreds of footy fans of all ages watched with pride as David, one of their own, scored in a losing effort against Switzerland.
One of those fans was retired gym teacher Ed McMahon, who recalls a group of coaches at school promoting soccer to youngsters who were growing up in a city where hockey and basketball were the top sports.
“Because of this push towards the sport by a group of coaches and clubs, all these kids started playing soccer,” McMahon said. “We took them away from our high school football programs and other programs, but they just did so well. They won a number of Ontario championships, and I’m not surprised to be standing here today and watching them have so much success on the big screen.”
Among the crowd at the viewing party off Brampton’s main street were youngsters who marvelled at both the live action and at the fact that the players on the World Cup pitch grew up just like them, around the corner, attended the same schools and played on the same soccer fields.
“Seeing them inspires me to go play too,” said 12-year-old Ashwin Kajanthan. “Seeing people from my community make it big makes me think I can make it big.”
The true win for Canada during this year’s World Cup may be happening in real time, as children in communities across the country realize their own potential while watching their country make history.
“I like shooting and dribbling and scoring,” said six-year-old Chance Taylor, who arrived at the viewing party from school, wearing his red-and-white Team Canada jersey.
One look into the crowd in Brampton, and it becomes clear that the youngest of footy fans are watching players from their neighbourhood on the world stage.
They now have their sights set on the goal, their future and a story yet to be told.
