Beware the parking lots! Expert dishes on best and worst volunteer gigs for 2026 World Cup

CBC

2 days ago

Super sports volunteer Brenda Chinn knows what she's talking about when it comes to the thousands of unpaid positions FIFA has opened up to cover the volunteer needs of the 2026 men's World Cup.
"You might not want to be in transportation or in a parking lot," she said. "Don't tell anybody you have a Class 4 licence. I purposely don't have one so I don't get stuck in transportation."
Free advice from someone whose free labour recently earned her the title 2025 Sport Tourism Canada volunteer of the year, and who for decades has helped fuel an untold number of events and tournaments around the Lower Mainland and beyond.
When CBC caught up with Chinn, she was in the middle of shooting a volunteer video for Vancouver World Cup organizers with B.C. Place as the backdrop.
"I just think volunteers are the heart and soul of any event and the ambassadors of the event," she said. "They will welcome the world just like the blue jackets did for the 2010 Paralympic and Olympic Games."
On Monday, FIFA announced applications had opened for the approximately 65,000 volunteers that are needed across the 16 cities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico set to host next summer's 104-match tournament.
Individually, Vancouver needs between 2,500 and 3,000 volunteers for the seven games coming to B.C. Place in June and July, according to the local host committee lead.
"It's a function of what the footprint of the city is," said Jessie Adcock.
"You know there's going to be movement between the airport, the stadium and the fan festival [at Hastings Park]. Based on the logistics of that and helping people get around town, at the various Skytrain stations, that's the number we think will help."
Adcock says the positions will range from city and tournament ambassador to event operations, including safety and security staff. She expects the supply of people wanting to volunteer will outstrip demand.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's the largest volunteer program that FIFA has ever put on. There's going to be the ability to be closer to the event, to have a uniform that is uniquely created and crafted to visually distinguish these volunteers."
As to why FIFA — a multi-billion dollar organization set to profit handsomely from the World Cup — can't pay its volunteer army, Adcock says that would take away from the tournament's magic.
"There are a number of positions that will be created that will be paid positions, and ultimately the volunteer aspect of this and any other major sporting or cultural event is that extra special sauce that gets layered over top," she said.
"I think it's a great opportunity for people locally to get involved — from a volunteerism perspective, but also a participation perspective — and ultimately create that atmosphere that is more electric."
As for the most coveted volunteer positions, Chinn has these words of wisdom.
"Plum gigs would probably be things like team hosts or somewhere where you can actually see the action," she said.
Canada receives an automatic berth in the 2026 World Cup as a host nation and will play two pool matches at B.C. Place on June 18 and June 24.