Wow. The numbers are impressive. Or are they?

The World Cup final kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. local time. FC Edmonton hopes that it can open the Commonwealth gates at noon, and then show the game on the brand new Jumbotron that has been installed at the stadium. But it’s not that simple. The team confirmed it needs to ensure it has the rights to show the game at a ticketed event. And that means approaching either the CBC and/or FIFA.

Want to talk about the World Cup, and what it means on a global scale? How soccer influences international politics? And what it will mean if Canada wins the right to host the 2026 World Cup?

These numbers, especially as they get better as we head towards the final, will be vital as the Canadian Soccer Association tries to convince FIFA that it has what it takes to host the World Cup in 2026.

FC Edmonton’s home matches have been broadcast on CBC.ca all season long — now the NASL team’s Aug. 4 telecast will jump to CBC TV.

With less than a week to go before Sunday’s home opener, it’s confirmed that the broadcast feed, called by Gareth Hampshire and, ahem, yours truly, will not only be carried on the league-mandate Ustream channel, but on the CBC Edmonton website.

CBC’s broadcast of the Women’s World Cup opener between Canada and the No. 1 ranked Germans got ratings that the men’s program can only dream about — but didn’t come close to the kind of numbers CBC pulled in for major group-stage games of the men’s World Cup last year.

TSN was officially confirmed Monday as the new official broadcaster of MLS in Canada. But, for fans of Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps, there won’t be an overwhelming number of games on Canada’s most popular sports network.

The Canadian Soccer Association has called a press conference for Wednesday, in Oakville, Ont., where Kara Lang is expected to end her playing career all too early.