Today we are talking about Canada, a country in North America which has close relations with the United States, especially when it comes to sports.
CANADA
- Name in the native language: Canada
- Language: English
- Capital: Ottawa
- Currency: Canadian Dollar (BRL 3.86 – exchange currency on 10/25/2022)
- Main player: Alphonso Davies
- Typical food: Maple syrup
Curiosities
Canada has a history that is full of miscegenation. Its territory was already occupied by aboriginal peoples, who even came into conflict with Vikings during the pre-colonial period.
The country was colonized by France and England, and was, at one point, part of the United Kingdom, until 1867, when its many provinces united to become an actual country. Canada is one more country that is a part of the United Kingdom and is in the World Cup and, as in England, Canada’s political matters are decided by its prime minister.
Canada is bordered only by the United States, forming the largest border in the world, with 8,891 kilometers, including Alaska, which is west from Canada and which, in spite of being part of the United States, is separate from the coast.
The Canadian capital, Ottawa, is not very well known. It is common to think that the capital of Canada is Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, or Vancouver.
The Canadian economy has as main activities the production of zinc, nickel, copper, paper, petroleum, uranium, and natural gas. In addition to exporting these resources, Canada also uses them to subsidize the country’s sustainable industrial development.
As a result of colonization, Canada has two official languages, English and French, but the usual language varies according to the location. In Toronto, people commonly talk in English, but in Montreal, the usual language is French, which is why you should ideally research the language of the region before traveling. In the capital Ottawa, public servants must be fluent in both languages, seeing as Canadian documents even have both languages in the same ID. It is another country where you can choose to translate your documentation in more than one language.
The Canadian cuisine has a singular element, the maple syrup, extracted from maple, a tree that is typical of North America, discovered by the indigenous peoples. The maple leaf is present in the Canadian flag, and maple syrup is the topping used in pancakes, waffles, crepes, and other foods.
As mentioned in the beginning of the post, the greatest example of the close connection between Canada and United States in sports is James Naismith, the creator of basketball, who was born in Canada and invented the sport as a way for the students of Springfield University (yes, the city with the same name of the ‘The Simpsons’ town) to exercise during the winter, when it was not possible to play sports outside due to the weather conditions.
Until today, all American leagues, except for the NFL (National Football League – American Football), have Canadian teams. Currently, in the NBA, there are the Toronto Raptors; there were also the Vancouver Grizzlies, but the franchise was moved to Memphis in 2001, keeping the same name. In hockey, there are 7 Canadian teams, and in soccer, the MLS (Major League Soccer) has 3 teams from Canada. Hence, most players in the Canadian team are MLS players, whether for Canadian or North-American teams.
Its main player is Alphonso Davies. The left-back plays for Bayern Munich, and has been selected for the Canadian team since 2017, with 12 goals in 32 games, a very high number for a defense player.
There was a recent dissatisfaction of the Canadian team players with the sports vendor of the team, which announced that Canada will not have new uniforms for the Cup. The country will be the only one to play with the same uniforms of last year, because the Canadian Football Association is in a different uniform development cycles.
This is only the second time Canada goes to the World Cup. The first time was in 1986, in Mexico, when it did not get past the first round. It will be quite a task and, in order to move forward, Canada will have to beat Belgium or Croatia, which are more experienced, technical teams.
This was Eko’s in the World Cup – Canada. If you liked it, follow our social media (Instagram: @ekostraducoes / LinkedIn: ekostraducoes) and come back tomorrow, when we will talk about Morocco.