By Gazette Staff
December 12th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
It came to City Council as an Urgent Business matter on the last day of the year that City Council was to meet.
There appears to be an URGENT need for the city to spend $160,000 with one of the most corrupt sports organizations in the world.
The hope in the minds of the people in the Recreation Parks and Culture department is that Burlington will be chosen as one of the locations for the planned FIFA Caravan leading up to the games that begin in June of 2026
The Cup won’t go to Canada – could the final game be played in Canada.
Every municipality had a chance to be one of the Caravan locations: all you had to do was tell FIFA you were interested.
The Caravan travels to various Canadian cities as a precursor to the tournament. It offers interactive programming, photo opportunities, partner activations, and ways to engage with the World Cup. The entire setup is fully branded by FIFA, creating a consistent event atmosphere. Cities bid to host the one-day event, hoping to boost the local economy and community spirit.
In essence, it’s a “mini World Cup village” that tours the country to build excitement and allow fans to experience the tournament’s energy up close,
Burlington was interested; Hamilton wasn’t, so there was a better than even chance that we would be chosen.
Next step was to send along $160,000 and we are in – in not as a chosen location but in as a possible chosen location.
If we don’t get chosen, do we get the $160,000 back?
Nope.
There was a tight deadline and her department needed a recommendation from Council before they adjourned until January.
Emilie Cote explained to Council that there was a tight deadline and her department needed a recommendation from Council before they adjourned until January.
She also needed to know that thefunds would be available to pay FIFA the $160,000
The department also needs funding for a half-time staff member to be the coordinator with FIFA
FIFA is very very tight with the way their brand is used. There is one way things get done. THEIR way.
So we are in for the $160,000 – Not certain as to what we are getting – but it is expected to be fun and, as Councilor Angelo Bentivivegna put it –” this will put Burlington on the map.”
What Bentivegna doesn’t appear to grasp is that we will be seen as one of the communities that got suckered into a FIFA cash grab.
No one around the Council table made any mention of the reputational risk. Our thought as we watched the webcast was that the City Solicitor would bring it up. He didn’t.
Council passed the following Recommendation
Direct the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to proceed with collaborating with FWC26 Canada Football Ltd. (FIFA26 Canada) to bring FIFA Canada’s Caravan, a nationwide fan experience celebrating the FIFA World Cup 26, to Burlington, and to formalize the partnership through an agreement outlining respective roles, responsibilities, and financial contributions, as described in report CSS-30-25; and Authorize the Chief Financial Officer to make a one-time contribution of $160,000 to the Cultural Initiatives Reserve Fund, funded through 2025 retained savings. These funds will support the FIFA Canada’s Caravan as outlined in report CSS-30-25. Any unspent funds following the event shall remain in the Cultural Initiatives Reserve Fund for future use in enhancing City-initiated cultural programs, in accordance with the Reserve Fund by-law.
The reality is that there is a surplus from the 20253 budget – the city plans to use that surplus to bring an event to Burlington.
Where in Burlington would the Caravan be located? The public has yet to be told how long the Caravan will be in Burlington or where it will settle.
The World Cup Games are huge – bigger than the Olympics.
This event will drive thousands of local hockey teams..
The beauty of the sport – and the game is a beautiful sport – is that it can be played year-round. The City already has three domes with a fourth dome to be built on the Corpus Christi grounds – it is scheduled to open late 2027 – early 2027.
The 48 countries taking part in FIFA 2026 are divided into 12 groups. Canada is in Group B with Switzerland, Quatar and a fourth country.
The games run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It is jointly hosted by sixteen cities—eleven in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.
First question is: Can Canada get by Switzerland?
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Graham
Worldwide viewership for game 7 of the 2025 World Series was 51 million.
Worldwide viewership for the 2020 FIFA World Cup final game was 3.6 billion !!
See the difference in exposure!
Everyone else here who has commented –
I agree too little to no due diligence has been undertaken. I have a friend at Labatt who are a World Cup Sponsor. He says the Caravan is likely to be a flip from a municipality standpoint. A huge win for FIFA at $160,000 non-refundable deposit. More dollars to come from municipal “winners”.
So the need for the mayor, council and staff for constant attention, for the usual fluffy, photo-op-worthy reasons, combined with their utter disregard for fiscal responsibility with OUR money, has led us here, to this “let them eat cake” moment.
It’s gobsmacking to see how far removed from the needs and feelings of regular people our mayor has become, and to watch them hand over $160,000 to the grossly corrupt FIFA, and do so in this rushed last-minute manner with no regard for what those of us paying for it might have to say. The entitlement is staggering, and it is yet another seemingly deliberate middle finger to everyone who has been speaking out for their entire term now about their spending like drunken sailors when we have so many residents who can’t even feed their families.
I wonder if this idea (which most cities took a pass on) came from staff or as a “suggestion” from the strong mayor who can fire them. And as for Councillor Bentivegna saying this will “put Burlington on the map” — if handing other peoples’ money to FIFA of all places puts us on the map (rather than say, creating a friendly city run by people who put residents before the egos of their elected officials and the whims of unelected staff), I don’t want to be “on the map.” What a silly statement.
I agree completely with the outrage expressed by my fellow citizens here and will be writing to our Council to reinforce the points raised in the responses to this issue. Given FIFA’s track record could any reasonably informed person believe that: even if we were to secure this event, it would be widely accessible to the kids of Burlington who might be inspired by it! Not unless I’m sure their parents are willing to pay the steep prices FIFA will demand. Did anyone even ask that question?
Burlington’s costly application, and thats all it is at the moment – for participation in FIFA Canada’s travelling World Cup “Caravan” should have invited a careful and measured discussion grounded in stewardship, transparency, and value for money. The questions raised here are not about opposing sport, celebration, or community engagement, but about how council evaluated the risk and accountability when these public funds were committed.
First, absolute clarity is needed on the nature of the city’s $160,000 contribution. First and formost, the answer to the question, is the $160,000 fully non-refundable if we are not selected? It is the readers understanding that it is not. If not, how did council assess the decision to expend public funds without a guarantee of delivery or return? Understanding the rationale for accepting this level of financial risk is central to responsible governance.
Second, what specific and measurable outcomes is Burlington expected to receive in exchange for this investment? Beyond general references to community excitement or global visibility, are there projected indicators – such as attendance, tourism activity, or downtown economic impac – that council can later use to evaluate whether the expenditure achieved its stated objectives? Without defined benchmarks, it becomes difficult to assess success or failure after the fact.
Third, how does this decision align with the city’s stewardship obligations, particularly in a period marked by budget pressures and tax increases? While the funds are drawn from a cultural reserve rather than the tax levy, they remain public assets. What other cultural, recreational, or community initiatives might be deferred or displaced as a result of allocating $160,000 to a single, one-day, FIFA-branded event?
Fourth, given FIFA’s well-known control over branding, programming, and delivery, what degree of local influence will Burlington retain? How will council ensure that the event reflects local priorities and community values, rather than functioning primarily as a promotional exercise for an external organization?
Finally, was a formal risk assessment shared with council and the public? If Burlington is not selected, or if the event does not deliver anticipated benefits, how will council explain the outcome to residents, and what lessons will guide future sponsorship or partnership decisions?
These are reasonable questions of stewardship and accountability, something that has been in short supply lately. These questions help ensure public decisions can be clearly explained, defended, and measured in the public interest.
The soundness and integrity of the decision-making here is appalling. But one has to question who exactly is driving this bus. So far, this year we have had at least three runaway issues; the swimming tender fiasco, the SOM mess and now this. What is common to all three? All derive from the Recreation, Parks and Culture Department under the executive program leadership of Ms. Côté (although she didn’t put her head above the foxhole for the BAD/HAC dispute). Sometimes staff, like Victorian-era children, should be seen and not heard.
I can’t believe that Parks and Recreation would even consider bringing this ridiculous suggestion to Council. I certainly can’t believe that Council would even consider spending $160,000.00 for a one day event that some on council think “would put Burlington on the map”.
There is a reason why “no other city has put their name forward to compete with this Fifa Caravan ( whatever that means)” they realize how ridiculous it is and how foolish it is to spend taxpayer dollars for this type of event.
As others have said” if there is a surplus of dollars available it should go directly into the 2026 Budget to reduce our Property Tax increase”.
Unbelievable.
I hope I am not the only citizen who says this quick commitment of $160,000 to an unneeded FIFA fan event (and one that may not actually occur in Burlington) may be the most flagrant abuse of the power to spend our money without even consulting us in the history of our City.
I ask that a stop be put in place right away before any cheque gets cut to FIFA. I am disgusted with this decision-making.
If the City has a surplus of funds from the 2025 Budget, this money and any other money left over from 2025 should go directly into the 2026 Budget to reduce our Property Tax increase. It should not be spent on FIFA!! or on anything else.
Why is this not being done? It’s a no brainer!!
We didn’t do anything with World Series?