CanMNT heads to Halifax for training camp amidst push for a permanent stadium
Jesse Marsch is not one to play coy.
Less than four months ago on a snow swept night, the Canadian Men’s National Team head coach stood in the Future Inns Hotel in Halifax and mused on the importance of symbolism. It was, he told reporters that evening, imperative to bring the national team to places like Nova Scotia, to places like Halifax, in his quest to unite Canadians coast-to-coast ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Now, in partnership with the Halifax Wanderers, Canada Soccer has announced that Marsch’s hypothetical has come true: the program will kickoff their training camp in Halifax ahead of this summer’s newly minted Canadian Shield tournament in Toronto. An open training session for the public will be held at the Wanderers Grounds on Tuesday, June 3.
“We had a very positive experience in Montréal with an open training session last year, and I’m glad we can do it again with our first-ever official visit to Halifax,” said Marsch in a press release.
“The country deserves to see this team ahead of our upcoming home FIFA World Cup.”
Wanderers founder and president Derek Martin called the news the realization of a dream.
“From a personal perspective, this is the realization of one of my dreams when building the stadium at the Wanderers Grounds eight years ago. We're proud to be a part of helping to bring the team to Nova Scotia,” he said.
But in addition to being the men’s team’s first trek to Nova Scotia, with the women’s program having played a match at the Wanderers Grounds versus Brazil in 2023, the news comes at a pivotal time for football in Halifax.
Like the women’s national team before them, some of world football’s stars will take to a temporary stadium that features neither running water or flushing toilets. Shipping containers — meant as a starting point, not a fixture — dominate the space. Progress on securing something more, be it the $40-million concept presented by Martin to the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in 2023 or something else, is slow.
And now, with the Northern Super League set to debut, the Wanderers Grounds will also be home to the Halifax Tides, meaning there are two professional football clubs occupying a stadium meant as an interim option.
Football, said Tides president Val Malone, is only a piece of the stadium puzzle.
“If we’re thinking about a permanent stadium, we really have to contemplate how we put Halifax on the map as a destination globally for international sport. That needs to be something we think about. There’s a bigger need for Halifax,” she said.
“We’re bringing world class athletes to Halifax to train and compete here. They deserve it. We will be as relentless as the tides so that the facilities match the quality of the talent we’re bringing to the market.”
The Wanderers, of course, have made a name for themselves by consistently having an excellent crowd for CPL matches. But events like the men’s training camp or the women’s friendly very much represent the sort of draw Halifax could have with a more permanent stadium, especially with countries looking for staging centres ahead of the World Cup.
Bringing players like Jonathan David or Port Williams’ own Jacob Shaffelberg to Halifax are part of that promise.
For his part, as he previously told OneSoccer, Marsch said he takes community building seriously.
“I know, in the end, people are going to love me or hate me based on how the team does in the 2026 World Cup. But along the way, I take this (grassroots) responsibility very seriously. This is different from coaching a club team. I have a responsibility to the nation to try and do the best I can in every possible way to help the sport and I’m committed to do that,” he said.
Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC
