For most people, a FIFA World Cup match begins at kickoff. For Certified Athletic Therapist Elwin Lau, the work began long before that.
As Senior Medical Manager in Canada for FIFA World Cup 2026, Elwin was responsible for building and coordinating the medical services supporting the tournament’s Canadian host cities. His work reached far beyond the players on the pitch to include participating teams, match officials, FIFA staff, volunteers, media, vendors, VIP guests, and the hundreds of thousands of spectators who attended matches in Toronto and Vancouver.
The scale of the role was unlike anything he had experienced before. Elwin was not in a clinical role during the tournament, nor did he work directly with Canada’s national team. Each participating team brought its own medical staff to manage the day-to-day healthcare needs of its players. Elwin’s responsibility was broader: ensuring that the medical infrastructure surrounding the tournament was ready to support everyone who needed it.
That meant developing systems, building partnerships, coordinating resources, and planning for situations that might never happen. It meant making sure the right people were in the right places, with the right equipment and information, before the stadium doors opened.
“The goal is for the medical operation to feel invisible when everything goes well,” Elwin said. “But that invisibility is actually a reflection of the tremendous amount of planning, coordination, and preparation happening behind the scenes.”
His path to the FIFA World Cup began with a much smaller sporting environment. During his third year at York University, before attending Sheridan College, Elwin was responsible for organizing first-aid coverage for intramural sports. It included scheduling, supply management, teamwork, and developing operational protocols. Looking back, he recognizes it as his first experience organizing healthcare delivery in sport.
After graduating from Sheridan and becoming a Certified AT, he worked with provincial and national sport organizations. Those opportunities led to medical coverage for national championships and international tournaments, followed by increasingly complex events, including World Cup qualifiers, the Canada Games, the Pan American and Parapan American Games, the Invictus Games, and the Commonwealth Games. Each experience added another piece to the work he would eventually do at FIFA.
Preparation for the 2026 tournament began years before the opening match. Elwin joined the project in April 2025, during a planning process that had been underway since Canada, Mexico, and the United States were announced as host countries in 2018. By the time the tournament arrived, the plans were moving from paper into practice.
Medical spaces had to be built and inspected. Supplies and equipment had to be in place. Staff, volunteers, and partner organizations needed to understand their roles. In Canada, Elwin also served as the link between medical teams in Toronto and Vancouver and the tournament headquarters in Miami.
On match days, he arrived at the stadium eight hours before kickoff. The early hours were spent managing ongoing issues, attending meetings, and checking that player and spectator medical areas were prepared. Player medical teams completed scenario-based exercises before taking their positions pitch-side, while spectator medical teams prepared to care for fans throughout the stadium.
The work extended beyond the stadium as well. Medical services had to coordinate with venue management, competition management, safety and security, logistics, broadcast, media, legal teams, and local healthcare systems. If a team needed imaging, dental care, pharmacy services or hospital access, those pathways had to be established in advance — sometimes in the next city on its schedule.
“Success in a role such as this is measured not by the medical care I personally provide,” Elwin explained, “but by how effectively I enable healthcare professionals, operational teams, and partner organizations to work together within a coordinated system capable of delivering the right care, to the right people, at the right time.”
Although much of his time was spent behind the scenes, there were moments when the magnitude of the event came into focus. During the Portugal versus Croatia match, Elwin was pitch-side when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty to tie the game. Afterward, he witnessed Croatian players and supporters say goodbye to Luka Modri?, a moment that stayed with him long after the stadium emptied.
Another favourite memory took place in Toronto, when his two sons received tickets to the Germany versus Côte d’Ivoire match. The tickets unexpectedly became VIP passes and Elwin was able to meet them outside the stadium and accompany them through the VIP welcome experience. “They got to see a little of what I do at work and experience the World Cup from a completely different perspective,” he said.
Those moments gave Elwin the chance to step away from the operational demands of the tournament and see it through someone else’s eyes. The World Cup was a professional achievement, but it was also a collection of personal memories, shared experiences, and relationships. When he looks back, it will be the people he remembers most.
“There is something incredibly fulfilling about working alongside like-minded people who are all committed to the same goal: delivering a world-class event to a global audience,” he said. “The numbers demonstrate the magnitude of the event, but the people are what made the experience meaningful.”
The tournament also challenged him personally. There were moments when the scale of the responsibility felt overwhelming, even with years of experience behind him. During his first days in the role, he found himself worrying about failing but learned to acknowledge the pressure, work through it, and keep moving.
For Certified ATs interested in working at major sporting events, Elwin’s advice is straightforward. Learn what the work actually involves. Volunteer at provincial or national events when opportunities are available. Speak with people already working in the area. Identify gaps in your knowledge and experience, then work deliberately to address them. Most importantly, he said, stay curious and build relationships. “You never know where those conversations might lead,” he added.
Elwin’s career is a reminder that Athletic Therapy can lead well beyond the traditional clinical setting. The skills developed through the profession — communication, organization, adaptability, and an understanding of healthcare in sport — can open doors to medical operations and leadership on an international stage.
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As Senior Medical Manager in Canada for FIFA World Cup 2026, Elwin was responsible for building and coordinating the medical services supporting the tournament’s Canadian host cities. His work reached far beyond the players on the pitch to include participating teams, match officials, FIFA staff, volunteers, media, vendors, VIP guests, and the hundreds of thousands of spectators who attended matches in Toronto and Vancouver.
The scale of the role was unlike anything he had experienced before. Elwin was not in a clinical role during the tournament, nor did he work directly with Canada’s national team. Each participating team brought its own medical staff to manage the day-to-day healthcare needs of its players. Elwin’s responsibility was broader: ensuring that the medical infrastructure surrounding the tournament was ready to support everyone who needed it.
That meant developing systems, building partnerships, coordinating resources, and planning for situations that might never happen. It meant making sure the right people were in the right places, with the right equipment and information, before the stadium doors opened.
“The goal is for the medical operation to feel invisible when everything goes well,” Elwin said. “But that invisibility is actually a reflection of the tremendous amount of planning, coordination, and preparation happening behind the scenes.”
His path to the FIFA World Cup began with a much smaller sporting environment. During his third year at York University, before attending Sheridan College, Elwin was responsible for organizing first-aid coverage for intramural sports. It included scheduling, supply management, teamwork, and developing operational protocols. Looking back, he recognizes it as his first experience organizing healthcare delivery in sport.
After graduating from Sheridan and becoming a Certified AT, he worked with provincial and national sport organizations. Those opportunities led to medical coverage for national championships and international tournaments, followed by increasingly complex events, including World Cup qualifiers, the Canada Games, the Pan American and Parapan American Games, the Invictus Games, and the Commonwealth Games. Each experience added another piece to the work he would eventually do at FIFA.
Preparation for the 2026 tournament began years before the opening match. Elwin joined the project in April 2025, during a planning process that had been underway since Canada, Mexico, and the United States were announced as host countries in 2018. By the time the tournament arrived, the plans were moving from paper into practice.
Medical spaces had to be built and inspected. Supplies and equipment had to be in place. Staff, volunteers, and partner organizations needed to understand their roles. In Canada, Elwin also served as the link between medical teams in Toronto and Vancouver and the tournament headquarters in Miami.
On match days, he arrived at the stadium eight hours before kickoff. The early hours were spent managing ongoing issues, attending meetings, and checking that player and spectator medical areas were prepared. Player medical teams completed scenario-based exercises before taking their positions pitch-side, while spectator medical teams prepared to care for fans throughout the stadium.
The work extended beyond the stadium as well. Medical services had to coordinate with venue management, competition management, safety and security, logistics, broadcast, media, legal teams, and local healthcare systems. If a team needed imaging, dental care, pharmacy services or hospital access, those pathways had to be established in advance — sometimes in the next city on its schedule.
“Success in a role such as this is measured not by the medical care I personally provide,” Elwin explained, “but by how effectively I enable healthcare professionals, operational teams, and partner organizations to work together within a coordinated system capable of delivering the right care, to the right people, at the right time.”
Although much of his time was spent behind the scenes, there were moments when the magnitude of the event came into focus. During the Portugal versus Croatia match, Elwin was pitch-side when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty to tie the game. Afterward, he witnessed Croatian players and supporters say goodbye to Luka Modri?, a moment that stayed with him long after the stadium emptied.
Another favourite memory took place in Toronto, when his two sons received tickets to the Germany versus Côte d’Ivoire match. The tickets unexpectedly became VIP passes and Elwin was able to meet them outside the stadium and accompany them through the VIP welcome experience. “They got to see a little of what I do at work and experience the World Cup from a completely different perspective,” he said.
Those moments gave Elwin the chance to step away from the operational demands of the tournament and see it through someone else’s eyes. The World Cup was a professional achievement, but it was also a collection of personal memories, shared experiences, and relationships. When he looks back, it will be the people he remembers most.
“There is something incredibly fulfilling about working alongside like-minded people who are all committed to the same goal: delivering a world-class event to a global audience,” he said. “The numbers demonstrate the magnitude of the event, but the people are what made the experience meaningful.”
The tournament also challenged him personally. There were moments when the scale of the responsibility felt overwhelming, even with years of experience behind him. During his first days in the role, he found himself worrying about failing but learned to acknowledge the pressure, work through it, and keep moving.
For Certified ATs interested in working at major sporting events, Elwin’s advice is straightforward. Learn what the work actually involves. Volunteer at provincial or national events when opportunities are available. Speak with people already working in the area. Identify gaps in your knowledge and experience, then work deliberately to address them. Most importantly, he said, stay curious and build relationships. “You never know where those conversations might lead,” he added.
Elwin’s career is a reminder that Athletic Therapy can lead well beyond the traditional clinical setting. The skills developed through the profession — communication, organization, adaptability, and an understanding of healthcare in sport — can open doors to medical operations and leadership on an international stage.