5-week watch party underway in Mississauga as FIFA World Cup action begins

A five-week FIFA World Cup watch party gets underway Thursday afternoon at Celebration Square in Mississauga’s downtown core as on-field action begins in cities across North America.

While not every match will be shown on the big outdoor screens at the square, some five dozen of the contests will be televised at the popular Mississauga venue between June 11 and July 19.

Opening-day matches between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m.) and then South Korea versus Czechia (10 p.m.) will be shown on the screens at Celebration Square on Thursday, according to the City of Mississauga’s broadcast schedule.

On Friday, Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina will be broadcast starting at 3 p.m. All three of Canada’s Group Stage games (June 12, 18 and 24) will be shown on the Celebration Square screens.

The 38-day FIFA event, held every four years, features 48 teams and is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Games in Canada will be played in Toronto and Vancouver.

It was a privilege to meet and welcome my childhood footballing idol, Roberto Baggio, to Mississauga and the GTA for a #FIFA Legends Tour! As a promotional lead-up to this summer’s @FIFAWorldCup, a 6v6 match ⚽️ was held between Italian NT Legends 🇮🇹 and Canadian NT Legends 🇨🇦. pic.twitter.com/iVptnLINrr

— John Kovac (@JohnKovac4) June 6, 2026

“Join your friends and neighbours to cheer on Canada, and all of your favourite teams, at the city’s biggest soccer watch parties,” city officials said in an earlier online description of the five-week Mississauga viewing event, dubbed Watch the World Play.

In total, city officials plan to screen 62 matches at the venue over the course of the 38-day premier international soccer tournament. Games will be screened around previously scheduled festival programming at the square, the city noted, and will be free and accessible to the public.

Matches and schedules are subject to change, officials added.

Following the Group Stage, Round-of-32 action gets underway on June 29, Round-of-16 play starts July 4, quarter-final matches take place July 9-11, the semi-finals go July 14-15 and the World Cup final is slated for July 19.

City officials said one festival had to reschedule its original dates to accommodate the World Cup screenings at the square.

Throughout World Cup action, Mississauga restaurants and bars can serve alcohol to customers for an extra hour every day, the city decided earlier this year.

Mississauga city council agreed in March to request that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario permit licensed local bars and restaurants in Mississauga to extend the hours of alcohol service to 3 a.m. during the World Cup “to coincide with late-night match broadcasts and to support local businesses while allowing fans to watch matches together.”

Mississauga Ward 4 Coun. and Deputy Mayor John Kovac said earlier the World Cup brings “excitement, unity and celebration” to communities around the world. In Mississauga, the deputy mayor added, the city recognizes “the enthusiasm of our residents and the many local fans who gather to cheer on their favourite teams — an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate this international event.”

With many of the matches to be held on the west coast in both Canada and the U.S., fans in Mississauga and elsewhere in the east will be watching late-night action into the wee hours in some cases.