Secrets on our Doorstep: Vancouver and the Shadow on the World Cup

As Vancouver prepares to host 2026 World Cup games—a crowning feat for hometown FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani—a chilling local history haunts the celebration. While Montagliani scaled soccer’s elite ranks, a shadow spread across the city and country he helped lead. In 2008, Canada Soccer and the Vancouver Whitecaps quietly severed ties with coach Bob Birarda. At the time, Montagliani told players and the public that the break was one of “mutual consent,” and Birarda was sent off with best wishes. In reality, multiple complaints that Birarda had engaged in predatory behaviour had been ignored.

This institutional silence allowed Birarda to coach local girls for another decade until whistleblowers lifted the curtain on this history of abuse. Amid international media interest, reactivated police investigations, and political intervention, Birarda was eventually jailed in 2022 for sexual assault. With World Cup celebrations underway in Vancouver, a dark legacy remains: one of an elite culture that chose to protect itself with silence and lawyers while a predator remained on their doorstep.

Matthew Hall has written about the intersection of sports, crime, culture, and politics for The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, and Foreign Policy, among others. He covered the controversial bids for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, eventually hosted by Russia and Qatar. He has extensively covered abuse in sports and systemic cover-ups by sports organizations and educational institutions across North America. His work has triggered or been used in multiple investigations into sports organizations and abuse. He is based in New York City. His book, The Away Game, was made into an award-winning film.