GUILBURT
WHAT’S IT TO YA?
June 16, 2026
Guilburt Remarais is the founder of Footwork Collective, a community in Toronto for football lovers of all backgrounds. Through pickup games, tournaments, watch parties and other events, Footwork Collective creates spaces where people can come together to celebrate the beautiful game. We caught up with Guilburt a week before the World Cup kicked off to talk about his work, his fandom, and what he’s looking forward to this summer as Toronto welcomes the world.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Looking back, what are your earliest football memories?
My earliest memory would be just piggybacking off of my father, who would always be watching the game or even just playing himself. He’d bring me to some of his runs, or we’d go to my family’s house to watch games. From there, I enjoyed watching with family and friends, which eventually evolved to me playing. Both of my parents come from a Haitian background, and obviously, soccer is huge over there.
When they immigrated here to Canada, they found ways to introduce me to the sport as well. They put me in house league at a young age, and that’s where I started playing. As I got better, I began working with trainers and doing whatever I could to reach a higher level.
Along the way, I just fell in love with the game. I love playing, I love watching, and I love the camaraderie that comes with it. As I grew up, it started becoming less about my parents supporting me and encouraging me and more just doing it for myself. So instead of my dad having to drive me to practices, it would be me waking up early to go on my own because I loved it so much and I was so passionate about it.
Football is more than just a game; it’s a language, it’s a culture, and even a way of life. It’s helped me with my mental health, and so much more than just kicking the ball around. It’s become so ingrained in who I am and has taught me so much about life. It’s something that I will continue to pursue and play for the rest of my days.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Looking back, what are your earliest football memories?
My earliest memory would be just piggybacking off of my father, who would always be watching the game or even just playing himself. He’d bring me to some of his runs, or we’d go to my family’s house to watch games. From there, I enjoyed watching with family and friends, which eventually evolved to me playing. Both of my parents come from a Haitian background, and obviously, soccer is huge over there.
When they immigrated here to Canada, they found ways to introduce me to the sport as well. They put me in house league at a young age, and that’s where I started playing. As I got better, I began working with trainers and doing whatever I could to reach a higher level.
Along the way, I just fell in love with the game. I love playing, I love watching, and I love the camaraderie that comes with it. As I grew up, it started becoming less about my parents supporting me and encouraging me and more just doing it for myself. So instead of my dad having to drive me to practices, it would be me waking up early to go on my own because I loved it so much and I was so passionate about it.
Football is more than just a game; it’s a language, it’s a culture, and even a way of life. It’s helped me with my mental health, and so much more than just kicking the ball around. It’s become so ingrained in who I am and has taught me so much about life. It’s something that I will continue to pursue and play for the rest of my days.
How did Footwork Collective come about?
When you start playing, there’s obviously goals and dreams of becoming a professional, and not everybody gets the opportunity or chance to do so. I found myself in a place where I was past a certain age, and they tell you that once you get past maybe 16 or 17, if you haven’t made it already, then you can forget about that dream. But there was just something inside of me that just said, ‘Does it have to end here?’ Like, why does it have to be being professional or nothing, right? All these hours that you put into your craft and all these friendships and experiences that you have just for it to stop because you haven’t made it professionally.
So that’s what drove me to start Footwork Collective, because I wanted to keep playing, and it’s not always just about making it professionally. It’s about kicking a ball around with your friends, enjoying the game, and I think that it’s so much more than just the business aspect of it. There’s that leisure that, for me, serves as therapy, and there are a lot of people who enjoy the game who feel that way as well.
When you get to meet people who have the same understanding and love for the game as you, it really builds lifelong friendships and bonds. And that’s one thing that I’ve been able to value and cherish for myself in starting Footwork Collective: I’ve been able to find people, without even knowing them before, who believe and feel the same way I do. So I think that’s really God’s confirmation in my life that this is something I need to continue to pursue because there are a lot of people who need and are looking for something like this. So why not be the one to create that or bring that to the city?
When you start playing, there’s obviously goals and dreams of becoming a professional, and not everybody gets the opportunity or chance to do so. I found myself in a place where I was past a certain age, and they tell you that once you get past maybe 16 or 17, if you haven’t made it already, then you can forget about that dream. But there was just something inside of me that just said, ‘Does it have to end here?’ Like, why does it have to be being professional or nothing, right? All these hours that you put into your craft and all these friendships and experiences that you have just for it to stop because you haven’t made it professionally.
So that’s what drove me to start Footwork Collective, because I wanted to keep playing, and it’s not always just about making it professionally. It’s about kicking a ball around with your friends, enjoying the game, and I think that it’s so much more than just the business aspect of it. There’s that leisure that, for me, serves as therapy, and there are a lot of people who enjoy the game who feel that way as well.
When you get to meet people who have the same understanding and love for the game as you, it really builds lifelong friendships and bonds. And that’s one thing that I’ve been able to value and cherish for myself in starting Footwork Collective: I’ve been able to find people, without even knowing them before, who believe and feel the same way I do. So I think that’s really God’s confirmation in my life that this is something I need to continue to pursue because there are a lot of people who need and are looking for something like this. So why not be the one to create that or bring that to the city?
Looking ahead a bit, what would you like to accomplish with Footwork Collective?
For me, it’s to continue to build strong relationships. I think that Footwork Collective has opened the doors to not just meet great players, but be able to meet people who work in different areas of the game as well. Whether it’s people who own facilities, cover the game on social media, photographers, videographers, all can help bring ideas to life.
I think that my vision and my goal is to continue to grow footy in North America. A lot of the blueprint comes from overseas in Europe, and obviously the game is a lot more advanced there than here, but my goal is to just contribute to the growth of footy here in North America. Although we have a long way to go, I definitely feel like we’re taking strides to be able to get to a place where at least globally, we’re taken a bit more seriously than we are now.
For me, it’s to continue to build strong relationships. I think that Footwork Collective has opened the doors to not just meet great players, but be able to meet people who work in different areas of the game as well. Whether it’s people who own facilities, cover the game on social media, photographers, videographers, all can help bring ideas to life.
I think that my vision and my goal is to continue to grow footy in North America. A lot of the blueprint comes from overseas in Europe, and obviously the game is a lot more advanced there than here, but my goal is to just contribute to the growth of footy here in North America. Although we have a long way to go, I definitely feel like we’re taking strides to be able to get to a place where at least globally, we’re taken a bit more seriously than we are now.
What teams do you support?
My club is Man City. I’ve been a City supporter ever since they signed Yaya Toure, who was one of my favourite players to watch at the time. But internationally, given the fact that we’re going into the World Cup, being Haitian, I have to support my home country. It’s been a very long time coming. In my lifetime, I’ve never been able to see them play at a World Cup. It’s been well over 50 years—I believe 1974 was the last time that they had qualified. I’ve always heard stories about when they made it and that one famous story of Emmanuel Sanon, who scored against Italy and I think that was the first time the Italian goalkeeper had conceded a goal in two years, something like that.
As a Haitian, we are prideful people, so that’s a story that I had heard for a very long time, to the point where I thought we had won the game, but we just scored. Even though it was years ago, that monumental moment for us is something that we carry to this day. And I think that now, to be in a position where 52 years later, we qualified for a World Cup, I’m more than proud to be Haitian and to represent my country.
My club is Man City. I’ve been a City supporter ever since they signed Yaya Toure, who was one of my favourite players to watch at the time. But internationally, given the fact that we’re going into the World Cup, being Haitian, I have to support my home country. It’s been a very long time coming. In my lifetime, I’ve never been able to see them play at a World Cup. It’s been well over 50 years—I believe 1974 was the last time that they had qualified. I’ve always heard stories about when they made it and that one famous story of Emmanuel Sanon, who scored against Italy and I think that was the first time the Italian goalkeeper had conceded a goal in two years, something like that.
As a Haitian, we are prideful people, so that’s a story that I had heard for a very long time, to the point where I thought we had won the game, but we just scored. Even though it was years ago, that monumental moment for us is something that we carry to this day. And I think that now, to be in a position where 52 years later, we qualified for a World Cup, I’m more than proud to be Haitian and to represent my country.
What are you looking forward to most about this summer’s World Cup in North America?
I think it’s just the ambiance. It’s one thing to be able to watch the World Cup on TV and talk about it with your friends, but for the World Cup to actually be in your city, for you to be able to—even if you don’t go to an actual game—but even being in the vicinity to be able to feel that World Cup energy is something that I am looking forward to the most.
One of my bucket list goals is to watch a Champions League final game at night, where it’s raining. Like, I know it;s a bit specific, but those are some of the things that I’ve always been passionate about. So to actually be able to witness a World Cup in my home country is a feeling that I can’t explain. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I think that it’s just going to create opportunities for football to not only continue to grow, but for us as Torontoians to just witness what World Cup energy is like, and that it’s something that’s beyond anything that we could have ever imagined.
I think it’s just the ambiance. It’s one thing to be able to watch the World Cup on TV and talk about it with your friends, but for the World Cup to actually be in your city, for you to be able to—even if you don’t go to an actual game—but even being in the vicinity to be able to feel that World Cup energy is something that I am looking forward to the most.
One of my bucket list goals is to watch a Champions League final game at night, where it’s raining. Like, I know it;s a bit specific, but those are some of the things that I’ve always been passionate about. So to actually be able to witness a World Cup in my home country is a feeling that I can’t explain. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I think that it’s just going to create opportunities for football to not only continue to grow, but for us as Torontoians to just witness what World Cup energy is like, and that it’s something that’s beyond anything that we could have ever imagined.
