Quinn's first memories of a World Cup came in 2002, when they were in Grade 3.
The 27-year-old from Toronto had a flip book to collect player cards and stickers of each team's squad. Quinn would keep it in their elementary school desk and try and trade stickers with others to try and have the most complete collection possible.
Quinn's passion for soccer began playing with their siblings. One of the first matches they attended involved their idol Christine Sinclair, an integral part of Canada's Olympic soccer team and the leading international goal scorer of all-time.
They鈥檝e since as teammates including Quinn's first World Cup experience in 2019 as well as winning an Olympic gold medal together at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Knowing what emotions the Canada men's team is experiencing in anticipation of playing a first World Cup match, Quinn's message to the team is to "enjoy the journey."
"I think that there can be a lot of pressure you place on yourself when you are at such a competition but I would tune back into what our five-year-old selves were saying when they were watching the tournament,鈥� they said.鈥淭he excitement that you would get when you saw your favourite team score a goal, enjoy the procoess because you're gonna get the best out of yourself when you're enjoying every single minute of that.
"Canada is behind them, there's so much excitement and energy leading to this tournament and we're with them."
In keeping with that message, Quinn has teamed with GE Appliances Canada to promote a unique way for fans to support the team using a computer-generated filter on Instagram called #KeepUpCan.
The tool allows fans to play a virtual game of soccer keep-ups and there is a ticker tracker at the player's facilities logging how many people are showing their support for the team, which is set to participate in the men's FIFA World Cup for the first time in 36 years.
The team in Qatar will be playing their games 11,000 kilometres from Canada, a distance that Quinn said can be difficult for the players.
"When you are in that environment, it can be isolating at times," Quinn said. "You're so far from friends and family, your culture, your community, so, having a really tangible way of staying connected and feeling the support behind the country is so impactful as well as feeling the growth of soccer in this country."
The World Cup begins Nov. 20 and Canada plays its first match against Belgium on Nov. 23, followed by Croatia on Nov. 27, and Morocco on Dec. 1.
