World Cup-themed soccer ball Compass Card device draws thousands to Waterfront Station

The Compass Soccer Mini, a commemorative TransLink Compass piece made for the FIFA World Cup, drew thousands of people hoping to get their hands on one of the 10,000 devices produced.

Thousands lined up outside of Vancouver’s Waterfront Station on Saturday morning in hopes of getting their hands on a limited-edition FIFA World Cup-themed TransLink device—dubbed the Compass Soccer Mini.

The commemorative soccer ball-shaped piece, which can be used instead of a Compass Card on Metro Vancouver buses and stations, was limited to a production run of 10,000. Of those, 2,000 are orange for concession fares, while the remaining 8,000 are blue for standard adult fares.

TransLink spokesperson Dan Mountain told CTV News the first customer in line showed up at 11 p.m. Friday, meaning they waited for 10 hours until the TransLink Customer Service Centre handed over their Compass Soccer Mini.

“We think it’s going to build excitement from our customers throughout the tournament. We think it’s going to help to build pride,” he said. “I think they’re going to be really popular because it’s a piece of the tournament that you can take home with you and fit in your pocket.”

Locals at Waterfront Station on Saturday morning said they were excited to get their hands on one of these commemorative pieces—excited enough to start walking over at 3 a.m.

“I’m really excited that we got something special like this for the World Cup,” said Alex Peng.

“This is like the first World Cup ever hosted in Canada, and it’s a long time before another one comes back, so it’s good memories,” Hanson Yu added.