Interrogating alignment of the 2026 FIFA World Cup event objectives across the Canadian soccer system

Both top-down and bottom-up organizations often have event-related objectives associated with hosting major sport events. The extent to which the objectives of these organizations align within the host region can play a role in objective achievement (e.g., through efficient resource mobilization). This study examines the types and alignment of objectives of sport system stakeholders in each of the Canadian host locations of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A collective case study was employed to interrogate the event-related objectives developed by organizations within the Canadian soccer system. Publicly available documents (n = 36 documents; 1,032 total pages) from organizations' websites were analysed according to their objectives and resources dedicated to support objective achievement. Each organization's objectives were also analysed to interrogate objective alignment across the Canadian soccer system. While some alignment of objectives, particularly among similar types of organizations (i.e., sport, event, non-sport), indicates potential for objective achievement, the lack of clear objectives of some bottom-up organizations may result in missed opportunities. This study contributes to our understanding of event leverage beyond that of sport development and different stakeholder organizations' tensions in objective alignment.