The Organizing Committee for the 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s World Championship has
announced it is withdrawing its bid to host the event in Coquitlam in July of 2022. An official letter
providing the notice of withdrawal as host of the event has been sent to World Lacrosse, the
international federation for men’s and women’s lacrosse, and the Canadian Lacrosse Association,
which oversees lacrosse in Canada.
The announcement is being made jointly today by the Coquitlam Organizing Committee for the
2022 World Lacrosse Men’s World Championship, the Canadian Lacrosse Association and World
Lacrosse.
“With mixed emotions, I wrote to the Canadian Lacrosse Association and World Lacrosse this
week on behalf of our organizing committee to inform them of this decision,” said outgoing
Tournament Chair Cliff Pascas. “Our driving impetus for this decision is the opportunity to allow
for the game to receive maximum exposure in a major market as lacrosse looks to return to the
Olympic Games.”
The organizing committee has learned that another organization with additional capacity and the
ability to stage the event in a major media market has expressed interest in hosting the
tournament. More details will be provided by World Lacrosse in the near future.
“Our committee believes we would have done a first-class job hosting this tournament, but with
the opportunity ahead and a company with a full-time staff capacity and access to a major
population center, we feel it is in the best interest of the sport to allow it to stand on the biggest
stage,” Pascas added. “We all love the sport of lacrosse, and we recognize the tremendous
opportunity that exists to have a World Championship played in a major television market at this
time in the history of the sport; this is a potential watershed moment.”
“We are proud of our previous efforts to host two successful Under-19 men’s lacrosse
championships in 2008 and 2016 in Coquitlam, and we have every confidence we would have
done well in hosting the senior men’s tournament in the summer of 2022,” Pascas said. “We are
happy to support in transition to ensure success in 2022 in a new market and we wish the very
best to the next host and to all participants in the event.”
“Canada is one of the founding nations in the Creator’s Game, and the Canadian Lacrosse
Association has always supported its members in their efforts to host the lacrosse World
Championships,” said Joey Harris, President of the Canadian Lacrosse Association. “The
Coquitlam Organizing Committee is by far one of the top groups in Canada and they have had
much success in bringing the lacrosse World Championships to our country in past years. We believe that would have again been the case in 2022. With that said, we fully support the decision
made by Cliff Pascas and his organizing committee for all the reasons he has stated. It is a great
opportunity to reach more people around the world and showcase this great game the Indigenous
people gave not only Canada—Canada’s National Summer Sport—but now the world.”
“There is absolutely no doubt the organizing committee in Coquitlam, led by Cliff Pascas, would
have delivered an outstanding World Championship in 2022, as was the case in 2008 and 2016,”
said World Lacrosse President Sue Redfern. “As our sport continues to grow worldwide, and as
we pursue the ambition of one day securing a return for lacrosse to the Olympic Games, we must
be responsive to unique opportunities that will allow us to showcase our great game and bring it
to new and larger audiences — whilst never losing sight of our history and the partners who have
elevated our game to unprecedented heights. In the leadership of the Coquitlam Organizing
Committee, and the Canadian Lacrosse Association, we have partners who will continue to be at
the forefront of our efforts to grow the sport of lacrosse globally and reinforce the lasting values
of this great game. We thank both organizations for enabling our sport to take advantage
of this unique opportunity.”
