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Atiba Hutchinson answers questions during a FIFA Legends Panel Discussion at Washington’s Kennedy Center in December, 2025.Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Three years into retirement, Atiba Hutchinson still misses the game.
But four kids and World Cup duties are keeping the former Canada captain busy for the time being, as he ponders his future after soccer. The 43-year-old is part of a well-stocked roster of pundits for TSN’s coverage of the tournament.
He’s worked for the network before, during Copa America and Euro 2024.
“I enjoy it,” Hutchinson said in an interview. “It’s not being on the pitch of course, but we’ve got a very good team with guys that I really like and who know the game. So it’s always fun to be up there with them.”
He will be on camera for the games involving Canada and “for as many of the other games as I can.”
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Long-term TSN host Luke Wileman and Steven Caldwell, a former Scottish international and Toronto FC captain, will call Canada’s matches. The international broadcast feed will be used for all other games.
Other TSN analysts will include Caldwell, former Canadian internationals Jim Brennan, Milan Borjan, Jason deVos, Julian de Guzman, Terry Dunfield, Tosaint Ricketts and Clare Rustad, plus current Canadian international Janine Sonis, former Bosnia-Herzegovina international Asmir Begovic and former Irish international Kevin Kilbane.
“I was never one to really just sit and talk in front of people, so it’s taken time to get used to,” Hutchinson said of his TSN gig. “But I’ve got more comfortable with it. And, as I said, these guys can really help me out while I’m out there so I’ve learned a lot from them. It’s fun.”
For the record, Hutchinson believes Canada will get out of its group (B) – and could even finish atop it. He says the team will benefit from lessons learned at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“It was massive. Because now the team has got that experience of playing in a World Cup,” he said. “It had been 36 years since we had played in a World Cup before that. And to kind of get our feet wet again, and know that we can play against some of the best players and best countries in world football, it really helps the team.”
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Atiba Hutchinson celebrates scoring Canada’s opening goal against El Salvador during a FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador in February, 2022.Moises Castillo/The Associated Press
Hutchinson retired having made 104 senior appearances for Canada – a national men’s record.
At club level, the midfielder spent 10 years with Besiktas in Turkey, where fans dubbed him “the Octopus” for his ability to win the ball back and hold on to it. He became a club legend for helping Besiktas win three Super Lig titles, a Turkish Cup and a Turkish Super Cup in more than 300 competitive appearances prior to his swan song on June 3, 2023.
Hutchinson called time on his international career 12 days later, coming off the bench in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Panama in CONCACAF Nations League semi-final play. Before Besiktas, he played for Osters and Helsingborgs IF in Sweden, Copenhagen in Denmark and PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
While the family still calls Istanbul home, Hutchinson will be joined by his wife, Sarah, and their four children in Vancouver when the 30th-ranked Canadian men head west to complete Group B play against No. 57 Qatar and No. 19 Switzerland after their tournament opener in Toronto on Friday against No. 64 Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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“We’ll spend some time there, get to watch some games as well with the family, which will be cool,” he said. “This is something that will probably never come around in my lifetime, so I want to take in as much of it as I can – with my kids especially.”
Hutchinson’s three sons are aged nine, 10 and 11; his daughter turns 3 in July.
“They’re so excited. They’re really, really looking forward to it. I don’t think any of us are really ready for what’s about to come, but they can’t wait.”
Hutchinson can identify with the injury woes the current Canadian team has gone though in the lead-up to the tournament. Prior to Qatar, he had been sidelined with a foot injury suffered in preseason with Besiktas.
Having endured four previous failed attempts to qualify for the World Cup, the thought of missing what would be his last chance was hugely worrying for the skipper.
“Luckily in the end I got fit enough and things worked out.”
Looking to the future, while Hutchinson is involved in some projects “here and there,” he hasn’t settled on anything full-time.
“I’m still considering what my path is going to be if I got back into the game. Obviously I miss being on the pitch as a player but I’m just thinking about what that next step is going to be,” he said.
“If it’s going to be something in coaching – what level or maybe something in management – that’s what I need to figure out. What suits me best and what I feel comfortable with.”
All World Cup matches will air on TSN’s national television feeds and stream through TSN.ca and the TSN app. Some will also air on CTV and Crave.
