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Canadian soccer fans, are you ready to get loud? If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it, then clap your hands — sort of.
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The “Canadian clapper,” as its known, is not just a person but a thing, too, as the red noisemakers have been handed out free of charge at Toronto Stadium and the city’s fan festival ahead of Canada’s group-stage matches.
“First 1,500 guests to FIFA Fan Festival today will get a Canada clapper to help make some noise and cheer on Canada vs. Qatar!” FIFA World Cup 26 Toronto posted on X ahead of the team’s second match on June 18.
“Don’t miss out — get there early.”
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The clapper was mocked by some online, with one person sarcastically noting, “Wow! Hundreds of dollars for a ticket and you get a cheap plastic clapper!”
THE must-have item
Cheap and plastic, maybe, but the fan-like clappers are crafted from recycled materials, according to Toronto’s World Cup executive director Sharon Bollenbach, and for the most part, fans are loving them.
The noisemakers were first given to fans attending its inaugural World Cup match on June 12 at Toronto Stadium, then subsequently donated to the FIFA Fan festival where volunteers handed them out to watch party attendees during the ensuing games.
Perhaps the noisemakers are a sign of luck; six days after its 1-1 draw again Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada smoked Qatar 6-0.
The team followed that with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Switzerland on Wednesday, but it’s all good as Canada has reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time.
‘Big impact’ on Toronto
The clappers are small but mighty, with Bollenbach describing the “big impact” they’ve had and how the must-have items have “created a real buzz and an interest and lots of noise around the city of Toronto.”
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