紐時賞析／加拿大辦世界盃 有人在乎嗎

世界盃足球賽地主之一的加拿大將對上波赫，比賽場館多倫多體育場已準備就緒。（路透）

The World Cup Comes to Canada. But Does Anyone Care?

加拿大辦世界盃 有人在乎嗎

It does not feel as if the biggest sporting event on the planet is about to get underway in Canada. Blame staggering ticket prices, FIFA’s tyrannical resale rules and an unglamorous slate of matches in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Toronto — Canada’s participation in three notwithstanding.

加拿大似乎感受不到全球最大體育盛事登場。原因不只票價高昂、國際足總嚴苛的轉售規定，還有溫哥華與多倫多沒啥看頭的賽程；即使加拿大隊參與其中3場，也難以改變這一點。

Thousands of tickets to the opening game in Toronto remain unsold, and not a single match in either city has sold out. This was predictable, given that top-tier tickets for Canada’s opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina start at $3,000, and those for other matches in both cities start around $600.

多倫多開幕戰仍有數千張門票未售出，而且兩座城市沒有任何一場比賽完售。這其實不難預料，因爲加拿大對波士尼亞與赫塞哥維納的首戰，最頂級門票起跳就要3000美元；其他場次在兩城的票價也約從600美元起。

When the World Cup was awarded to North America after a joint bid from Canada, Mexico and the United States back in 2018, the countries felt not exactly equal, but certainly unified.

2018年，加拿大、墨西哥和美國聯合申辦世界盃，最後得標時，三國雖然談不上完全平等，至少當時看起來還是同心協力的。

As the sprawling tournament nears — they no longer feel aligned.

但隨着這場規模龐大的賽事登場，三國之間已不再顯得步調一致。

Canada and Mexico have each been at odds with the Trump administration, currently over the free trade agreement between the countries that expires on July 1. Trillions of dollars in trade are in question, and while Mexico and the United States have held discussions, Canada has not yet formally started its trade talks. This past week, Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc traveled to Washington to meet with Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, to discuss how they might proceed.

加拿大和墨西哥目前都與川普政府存在摩擦，焦點是這三國之間將於7月1日到期的自由貿易協定。牽動的是數兆美元的貿易利益；墨西哥和美國已經展開對話，但加拿大尚未正式啓動貿易談判。上週，負責美加貿易的部長多米尼克・勒布朗前往華府，會晤美國貿易代表傑米森・葛里爾，討論接下來如何推進。

Of the tournament’s 104 games, 13 will be in Canada, 13 in Mexico and 78 in the United States, and every match from the quarterfinals on will be in the United States.

本屆賽事共104場比賽，其中13場在加拿大、13場在墨西哥、78場在美國；而且從八強開始，所有比賽都在美國舉行。

Tariq Panja, who has been reporting on FIFA and global soccer for more than two decades, offered a reason why this World Cup feels so different.

長年報導國際足總與全球足球、已有20多年資歷的塔裡克・潘賈，點出了這屆世界盃爲何特別不一樣。

“It’s quite simply politics,” he said. “The relationship between Canada and Mexico with the United States is strained. Add to that the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, has in recent years attached himself like a barnacle to (President Donald) Trump, and you can see how this feels like three separate events. It was also always going to be lopsided in terms of attention.”

「說穿了，就是政治。」他說，「加拿大、墨西哥和美國之間的關係現在很緊張。再加上國際足總主席詹尼・英凡提諾近年來像藤壺一樣黏着川普，就不難理解爲什麼這屆賽事會讓人感覺像是3場各自獨立的活動。而且，關注度本來就註定會很不平均。」

Canada is in Group B with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland and is ranked 25th among the 48 teams by ESPN and 30th by FIFA. Canada has qualified for the World Cup twice, in 1986 and 2022, but has never won a game.

加拿大被分在B組，與波士尼亞與赫塞哥維納、卡達和瑞士同組；ESPN將加拿大排在48隊中的第25位，國際足總把加拿大排第30位。加拿大過去只兩度踢進世界盃會內賽，分別是1986年和2022年，但從未贏過任何一場比賽。

文／Shawna Richer，譯／國際中心

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