When Rob Notenboom first got involved with Canadian soccer supporters group the Voyageurs around 2005, he had no idea what it would grow into.
Now the president of the organization, he says fans have embraced the men’s national team during the World Cup in a way that’s exceeded his “wildest expectations.”
“Interest has never been higher. We can kind of barely keep up with it,” he said in an interview Monday.
Thousands of fans have joined Voyageurs-led marches through Toronto and Vancouver, and on Wednesday they’ll be out in force again, marching to BC Place for Canada’s match against Switzerland.
Notenboom said the Voyageurs will be honouring Canadian midfielder Ismaël Koné, who suffered a broken leg in last week’s match against Qatar, and they’ll print out 3,000 copies of Koné’s number 8 to display during the match.
He said the group has also been working on a banner to hold up during the game in honour of Koné.
Notenboom said the goal is to show players that supporters “have their backs 100 per cent.”
“Koné is the one that got injured, and yes, we want to make sure that he individually understands that we all recognize his sacrifice and what he’s put into all this, but it translates out to the players as well — that they not only have our support, but that they’re all playing for each other, and we’re there for them too,” he said.
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“It’s an unfortunate event, but we wanted to capitalize on it in a positive way to make a bit of a statement, so that’s what we’re trying to do at that game.”
Notenboom helped lead the march in Vancouver last Thursday and said he did not realize how big the crowd behind him was until he saw videos the next day.
“It was just massive,” he said. “It was really something. We’re quite proud of that actually.”
The group has been planning its events in Toronto and Vancouver since around December, liaising with police as well as city and FIFA officials, but Notenboom said he did not anticipate the swell of support that came when the tournament kicked off.
The energy generated by fans at the marches has been palpable.
“The march itself kind of took on a life of its own,” Notenboom said. “We didn’t anticipate in our wildest dreams that it would snowball like this.”
Chanting, drumming, waving flags and smoke canisters and dressed in red, thousands of fans joined the Thursday’s march down the “last mile” to BC Place.
Voyageurs organizers have been leading the crowds in cries of “allez les Rouges,” and call-and-response chants.
Notenboom said Wednesday’s march, which assembles at 9:30 a.m. and will depart at 10 a.m. from around Quebec and Central streets, “will still be huge.”
“There’ll be tons of energy and the stadium itself will once again be this incredible sea of red,” Notenboom said.
Wednesday’s kickoff is at noon. If Canada wins or draws, they will be playing their round-of-32 knockout match on home turf in Vancouver.
The Voyageurs were formed in Edmonton in 1996, to boost Canada’s ultimately unsuccessful campaign to qualify for the 1998 World Cup.
The club says on its website that its name was chosen “for reflecting the difficult task ahead for supporters of Canadian soccer.”
The club has come a long way on that journey, alongside the national men’s team, and has “become a bit of a force to be reckoned with, if I do say so myself,” said Notenboom.
Membership of the Voyageurs grew when the men’s national team qualified for the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, but numbers surged again as soon as ticketing began for 2026, Notenboom said. The impact of social media and notable moments for the team also had a lot to do with spikes in membership, which costs $30 a year and brings benefits including fan-zone ticketing for matches and other perks.
There are now about 3,000 members.
“It’s just such a moment, and so interest has never been higher. We can kind of barely keep up with it, but we’re more able to handle that now.”
He said he hopes the energy continues long after the tournament has ended.
“This is so much fun and it’s enriched so many people’s lives, being a soccer supporter,” Notenboom said.
“We’ve got a great community and we’re wide open for anybody that wants to (join). It’s a big bus and we don’t mind people jumping on the bus because that’s what makes it more fun.”
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