A maple leaf-shaped 'Canadian clapper' sparks a World Cup buzz across Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — A red noisemaker shaped like a maple leaf has become all the rage in Toronto during the World Cup.

The “Canadian clapper” has been handed for free out at BMO Field and the city’s fan festival ahead of Canada’s group-stage matches. The handheld items, measuring 4 by 7 inches (10 by 18 centimeters), can't be bought in stores, making them a must-have for fans of Les Rouges.

“These are amazing. So, let’s go Canada,” Toronto resident Ryan Fonte said after being handed one by a fan festival volunteer ahead of Wednesday’s match against Switzerland.

The three-piece, fan-like clappers are made from recycled material, said Sharon Bollenbach, Toronto’s World Cup executive director.

FIFA presented them to fans who attended Canada’s first World Cup match, on June 12 in Toronto, then donated thousands to the FIFA Fan Festival. Volunteers there handed them out to attendees ahead of watch parties held for the second and third group-stage matches.

Cedric Osagie looked down into his hand after a volunteer placed the red noisemaker there. The Ottawa resident wasn’t sure what to call it.

“I have absolutely no idea what the name of it is called,” Osagie said. “I’ll imagine it’s called a ‘clapper.’”

But he knew what to do with it.

“When Canada does something cool, I will do this,” Osagie said, clapping together the pieces. “When we score, I will shake it.”

Bollenbach said the little clappers have “had a big impact” and “created a real buzz and an interest and lots of noise around the city of Toronto.”

Plus, she said, they’re a symbol of the national pride that has swelled thanks to Canada’s co-host role and on-pitch success, with the team advancing to the tournament’s knockout stage for the first time.

Not to mention, Canada Day is right around the corner, on July 1.

“I think that’s what the World Cup is all about,” Bollenbach said, “that we can celebrate our cultures, we can celebrate our heritage and be truly Canadian proud that we are hosting the world.”

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Sharon Bollenbach, the City of Toronto's World Cup executive director, holds a "Canadian clapper" at the FIFA Fan Festival Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Attendees show off the "Canadian clappers" they just received at the FIFA Fan Festival Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Volunteer Mbalu Lumor hands out "Canadian clappers" to attendees at the FIFA Fan Festival Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Volunteers Nicole Johnston, left, and Mbalu Lumor, right, wave "Canadian clappers" before handing them out to attendees at the FIFA Fan Festival Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

TURIN, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 26, 2026--

Roboverse Reply, the Reply Group company specializing in robotics and automation, won the 1 st Place in the “Reconnaissance” category and a special prize for “Best Team Effort” at the European Land Robot Trial (ELROB) 2026 in Thun, Switzerland. Teaming up with ELP, a specialist for technical equipment for defusing service, the company demonstrated outstanding performance alongside a field of international participants from June 15 to 19, proving that its autonomous solutions operate reliably under real-world conditions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260626012237/en/

ELROB is Europe’s most demanding and established showcase for robotics and unmanned systems, where leading experts from around the world compete with their latest developments. Teams tackle challenges such as reconnaissance, explosive ordnance detection – meaning the search for booby traps and unexploded ordnance – as well as rescue operations. In modern security context, the integration of autonomous unmanned systems for operations in high-risk environments is gaining relevance.

Building on its success at ELROB 2024, the technological foundation of the solution was once again the proven Roboverse Reply platform, which has been consistently refined to deliver a major leap forward at this year’s competition. While at the last ELROB two years ago the focus was on a primarily remote-controlled solution, the current system uses features based on embodied AI to assist the operator during the mission. The system enables semi-autonomous reconnaissance in unknown environments, automatically detecting and reporting mines, ammunition, booby traps, and drones. Whenever human intervention is required, a VR-based telemanipulation solution provides intuitive remote control.

Filippo Rizzante, CTO of Reply, comments: “ELROB 2026 impressively demonstrates how our robotics solutions are increasingly evolving from pure teleoperation to intelligent assistance systems for critical missions. We are bringing greater autonomy, improved environmental awareness, and robust communication architectures to systems that must function reliably under real-world conditions. This allows us to support emergency responders in critical scenarios with even greater precision and safety.”

Roboverse Reply

Roboverse Reply supports companies in implementing challenging automation projects. As specialists in robotics, 3D technologies and agentic AI, we provide our customers with comprehensive support – from strategy to productive operation. We automate inspection, material flow and routine tasks and orchestrate heterogeneous robot fleets to ensure smooth overall operation. Digital twins create transparency, allow for pre-simulated what-if scenarios and form the basis for AI-supported process optimisation. In this way, we minimise investment risks, increase operational agility and help our partners to scale robotics in a sustainable and future-proof manner. www.reply.com/roboverse-reply/en

Roboverse Reply won 1st Place in the “Reconnaissance” category and a special prize for “Best Team Effort” at the European Land Robot Trial 2026, proving that its autonomous solutions operate reliably under real-world conditions.