Those seats had been reserved for FIFA delegates. But hundreds of delegates who were supposed to be in those seat  decided to stay away from the Women’s World Cup opener — as it came just days after Swiss and American authorities made arrests of FIFA officials on racketeering and fraud charges.

Now, the issue is finally out, with much of it dedicated to a look back to the biggest soccer tournament ever played on Canadian soil. As well, look for features on Cyle Larin, Chaim Roserie and a look at the history of the Jackson Cup.

We begin our look back at the 2015 Women’s World Cup with a salute to the champions — this tournament was held on Canadian soil but, by the time the final kicked off, the Americans had made it theirs — on the field and in the stands...

When I read through the indictment from the United States Department of Justice, what was striking wasn’t the amount of money or that votes could allegedly be sold so easily. What was shocking was how little was hidden from plain sight.

Then, the replay; it showed Haber was a step ahead of those three defenders when the ball was struck. The linesman had got the offside call correct. We couldn’t even have the cold solace of a conspiracy theory.

Now, two years later, it’s looking like the cabal of Miller critics owe the man an apology — at least for the criticisms of how he handled the national side. While Canada flounders through another goalless Gold Cup (as Morrissey once sang: Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before), Miller’s FC Edmonton leads the NASL in goals scored.

“We have three teams who are playing in MLS,” said Floro. “But only two or three players are starting. That’s a bad position for us, no?”

The Canadian team is introduced, with Cyle Larin and Tesho Akindele at the top of the formation. The Voyageurs sitting in the nosebleeds reminisce about the long qualifying campaign that led to this point. They wax poetic about the goal Akindele scored against the United States in the Hex; they also recall Larin powering through a group of Honduran defenders and then quieting the crowd in San Pedro Sula.

"I think we played a very good game," coach Benito Floro said after the match. "We proposed that we would be serious in this game and to play Dominica with a lot of respect. We developed a strong pressing game, and at the same time we have had at least 12 or 13 scoring chances. Unfortunately we only scored once from open play and the penalty. The result was not correspondent with the play but it was good."

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced that FC Edmonton defender Mallan Roberts — who got his citizenship earlier this year — has been called up the men's national team ahead of their June 11 and 16 World Cup qualifiers against Dominica.