When Vancouver artist Carson Ting got an email from FIFA last August inviting him to apply to help design the official poster for World Cup 2026, he sent in a portfolio of his work, and was thrilled to be shortlisted and chosen for an interview. “I wore my Whitecaps jersey, I was right in the zone and gave it everything. And then, sure enough, in a week I got the notification that I got selected to be the artist to represent Canada,” said Ting in an interview at his West End studio. Ting was told he would collaborate with two chosen artists from the other host nations to design the poster for the tournament. “I was just completely blown away. When I told my mom, my mom was actually bawling on the phone. And it got me choked up too as well,” Ting said. “This is such an epic opportunity, a once in a lifetime opportunity, that I just couldn’t thank the universe enough for being selected.” Ting and his fellow artists from the U.S. and Mexico immediately got to work on their design. “First and foremost, it had to be celebratory. It had to be about unity, it had to be about celebrating the sport on the world’s largest stage,” said Ting. The trio created a soccer player kicking a ball, whose body is partly formed by the outlines of the three countries, and is surrounded by art representing the host nations. “I wanted to cram as many Canadian icons in there as possible,” said Ting, who included a moose, a bear and a Canada goose wearing a Mountie hat in his part of the design. He included a nod to his own art as well. “The bunny is my spirit animal. I have it in all of my art, so I couldn’t leave the piece without the bunny kicking the ball,” Ting added. While the three artists did meet once in person, most of their work was done remotely. “From the development to the final art to the final assembly, all three of us put it together collectively, and we would just pass on the files through WhatsApp, and we would just keep noodling and noodling until we were 100 per cent happy,” said Ting, who added changes were made up until the last moment the project was due to be submitted to FIFA. On Tuesday as part of the 100-day countdown to the start of the World Cup, the poster was unveiled. “I am over the moon, and I am ecstatic with how it all turned out,” Ting said. And when the World Cup comes to Vancouver in June? “I am hoping to see it all over the place,” the artist said.
