Hon. Amina Gerba: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, for four weeks, the entire planet has been focused on Qatar to follow the World Cup of soccer, which is drawing to a close this weekend.

Here in Canada, we saw the excitement of Canadians, the feeling of coming together as a nation in complete solidarity with our national soccer team, Les Rouges.

In addition to helping improve Canadians’ physical fitness, soccer has also promoted Canada abroad. This sport showcases the diversity of colours and origins of our people and our multicultural nature.

Given Canada’s historical participation in the 2022 World Cup of soccer and the fact that Canada will host the World Cup in 2026 with the United States and Mexico, what is the Government of Canada doing to support this international sport that is not well developed in our country?