Toronto FC will celebrate its eighth annual Pride Match on Saturday, when it takes on Chicago Fire FC at the BMO Field. The soccer club will deploy different activations before and during the match, which support fans from marginalized communities and those who identify as 2SLGBTQ+.

The club will set up a Craig’s Cookies food truck and provide boxes of cookies at booths around the stadium, as well as a Toronto Pride educational stand. It will deploy a space for fans to take photos, with a donation to BMO Rainbow Depots for each photo, and a limited-time pop-up with food, games and merchandise to celebrate soccer.

A retail collection will be available both at the stadium and online through Real Sports Apparel. Pride t-shirts and merchandise will be available for participants at the pre-game ceremony, with special t-shirts given away at halftime. Special visitors from the 2SLGBTQ+ community will also attend the pre-match ceremonies.

Toronto FC will place signage at the stadium, including banners created by participants in this year’s Pride Youth Summit, a collaborative event between the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Foundation and Toronto Pride that allows 2SLGBTQ+ youth to participate in panel discussions, interactive workshops and activities.

On the digital side, it will run a custom Pride logo and match day graphics, as well as behind-the-scenes material from the Pride Youth Summit.

Toronto FC club engagement and academy player care Mendel Murray tells Media in Canada that the club hosts the annual Pride Match to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community, which aligns with the club’s “All For One” slogan and MLSE’s approach.

“Beyond the game, Toronto FC proudly practices inclusion that’s free of discrimination on the basis of ability, age, ethnicity, gender expression, race, religion, or sexual orientation through various community initiatives that benefit each group, including the 2SLGBTQ+ community,” he says.

Besides organizing the Pride Youth Summit each year, the club is the sponsor of Downtown Soccer, a 2SLGBTQ+ recreational soccer league whose goal is to eliminate barriers that prevent 2SLGBTQ+ people from accessing the sport.

All experiential activations, creative elements and promotions on Saturday are done by MLSE with consultation from various groups in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.