As preparations intensify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, health authorities in Toronto are taking a creative approach to public awareness by distributing free football-themed condoms ahead of the tournament.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) announced that it will offer limited-edition condoms inspired by football as part of efforts to promote safer sex during the global football spectacle, which runs from June 11 to July 19 next year.

More than 300,000 visitors are expected in Toronto during the tournament, prompting city officials to combine football excitement with sexual health education through the CondomTO initiative.

The special-edition condoms feature six football-themed designs and slogans, including “Block those shots!”, “What a finish!” and “Peaches & Cream.” One of the designs reportedly displays a peach and eggplant positioned in front of a football goalpost.

According to Toronto Public Health, the condoms and other safer-sex supplies will be available at four TPH-operated sexual health clinics across the city.

Health officials said the initiative is aimed at encouraging responsible sexual behaviour, reducing stigma surrounding sexual health discussions and connecting residents and visitors with available healthcare services.

“Studies show that using a condom every time you have oral, anal or vaginal sex decreases the risk of sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections, HIV and/or unplanned pregnancy,” Toronto Public Health stated on its website.

Canada will co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico in the first-ever 48-team edition of the tournament.

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Basketball legend Magic Johnson has rallied football fans across the globe to choose Los Angeles as their preferred destination for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing the city as the “sports capital of the world.”

Speaking during a “30 Days to FIFA World Cup 2026” event held at SoFi Stadium on Tuesday, the former NBA superstar said Los Angeles was preparing to offer visitors much more than football matches during the global tournament.

“The world game is coming to the greatest city in the world,” Johnson declared at the ceremony, which was organised to promote both the World Cup and Los Angeles’ reputation as a major global sporting and entertainment centre.

Johnson, a five-time NBA champion and three-time Most Valuable Player, noted that the city was entering a historic sporting era, with the World Cup, the NFL Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympics all scheduled within the next few years.

Los Angeles will stage eight World Cup matches involving teams such as the United States, Paraguay, Iran, New Zealand, Switzerland, Bosnia, Belgium and Turkey.

The 2026 tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will feature an expanded 48-team format across 16 host cities in North America.

According to Kathryn Schloessman, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and head of the local host committee, supporters can expect a “giant soccer carnival” across the city throughout the competition.

Organisers also stressed the availability of affordable transportation, highlighting stadium transit fares costing as little as $1.75 — a sharp contrast to transportation and event pricing concerns raised in some East Coast host cities.

Despite the excitement surrounding the tournament, debate has continued over the World Cup’s economic and social impact. Critics have expressed fears about rising housing costs, pressure on public services, homelessness and the financial burden on taxpayers.

Los Angeles is also scheduled to host the U.S. opening ceremony of the World Cup on June 12, with pop star Katy Perry expected to headline the entertainment programme. The event follows opening celebrations in Mexico City and Toronto, reflecting the tournament’s tri-nation hosting arrangement.

Although internationally recognised for franchises such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, the city has also enjoyed a rich football culture through the LA Galaxy, which previously attracted stars such as David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Steven Gerrard.

To further boost excitement ahead of the tournament, the Los Angeles World Cup committee has enlisted celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Eva Longoria and Will Ferrell as community ambassadors.

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Former African champions Ismaily SC, the club beaten by Nigeria’s Enyimba FC in the historic 2003 CAF Champions League final, have been relegated from the Egyptian Premier League after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Wadi Degla FC on Tuesday.

The result confirmed the end of Ismaily’s long-standing stay in Egypt’s top division, as the three-time league champions finished bottom of the four-team relegation group with 19 points.

The relegation marks only the second time in the club’s history that they have dropped out of the top flight and the first since the 1957-58 season. Their earlier relegation came during the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, when the club lost several key players before eventually returning to the elite division.

Founded in 1924 in the north-eastern Egyptian city of Ismailia along the Suez Canal, Ismaily are regarded as one of Egypt’s oldest and most iconic clubs.

For Nigerian football followers, the club remains closely associated with Enyimba’s historic triumph in the 2003 CAF Champions League final — a landmark victory that made the Aba-based side the first Nigerian club to win Africa’s premier club competition.

Enyimba defeated Ismaily 2-1 on aggregate in the final, winning the return leg 2-1 in Cairo after the first leg in Aba ended goalless. The victory launched a golden era for the Nigerian club, which successfully defended the title in 2004.

Ismaily themselves hold an important place in African football history. The Egyptian side became the first club from Egypt to win Africa’s top club competition in 1969, when the tournament was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs.

The club last won the Egyptian league title in the 2001-02 season and also boasts two Egypt Cup trophies.

However, financial difficulties in recent years have badly affected the once-famous club. Reports indicate that Ismaily even published their bank account details publicly at one stage in a bid to encourage supporters to contribute funds toward the club’s survival.

Meanwhile, Wadi Degla’s victory lifted them to 48 points and the top position in the relegation group, keeping alive their hopes of survival.

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