With FIFA 2026 already underway, policing readiness is about more than event planning. It is also about the relationships that help people feel safe, welcome, and connected. While matches are being held in Toronto and Vancouver, the spirit of the tournament is felt by soccer fans all across the country, and so is the work that helps communities prepare for large-scale events.
That work begins long before kickoff. It grows through everyday service, local partnerships, and programs that create positive connections between RCMP Members and the people they serve. In Burnaby, British Columbia, that approach has taken shape through youth soccer camps that bring RCMP Members, staff, and young people together through sport, mentorship, and shared experiences. First launched in 2017, the program created a space for children to build confidence, teamwork, and communication skills while forming positive relationships with police.
Although the soccer camps are paused this year, Burnaby RCMP hopes to bring them back next summer as part of its ongoing commitment to youth engagement. Sgt. Kelly Basi has noted that families often speak to “how impactful these camps are for the kids.”
Across Alberta, the same idea is showing up in a different form through the RCMP’s partnership with Sport Central. By helping get sports equipment into the hands, and at the feet of children, and giving RCMP officers resources to share during patrol, the initiative creates simple but meaningful opportunities for connection.
That kind of outreach is about more than recreation: when young people have access to healthy, structured activities, our local RCMP Members recognize that communities grow stronger and safer over time.
Together, these efforts show that trust is built not only in moments of crisis, before, or during major events, but through steady, local engagement.
Long before the world arrived in Canada, that trust-building work was already well underway, strengthened by the everyday relationships RCMP Members have been building in communities all along.
Support the RCMP Members who show up for their communities, on and off the field: https://whyweserve.ca/#signup