In the heart of Montréal, a new footballing project is taking root with a distinctly local flavour. FC Supra du Québec, the latest expansion team to join the Canadian Premier League (CPL), has unveiled a radical strategy to harness the province's rich football potential. Inspired by the famed model of Spain's Athletic Bilbao, the club is committing to field a squad comprised entirely of players born or raised in Québec.
A Clear Pathway for Provincial Talent
The club's president and co-founder, Rocco Placentino, is emphatic about the need for this new venture. "We needed it, the players needed it, the youth in this province needed it," he stated. Québec, Canada's second most populous province with around nine million people, has long been a fertile breeding ground for elite footballers. The current Canadian men's and women's national teams are packed with Québec-born stars like Moïse Bombito, Ismaël Koné, and Mathieu Choinière, many of whom are likely to feature at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
However, the pathway to professionalism has often been obstructed. With CF Montréal of MLS historically the only top-tier club in the region, talents like Bombito had to leave the province to secure their professional break. FC Supra aims to bridge this critical gap, providing a crucial stepping stone between the semi-professional Ligue1 Québec and the MLS.
"Who's the next Moïse Bombito? Who's the next Ismaël Koné? Now, we have a real platform for them," Placentino declared. The club's mission is to become an integral part of the local cultural identity, a true 'club d’ici, pour ici' (a club from here, for here).
First Signings and a Homecoming
The club's philosophy was put into action last week with its first player announcements, made symbolically at the iconic Evangelista Sports shop on Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Among the initial signings is midfielder Sean Rea, 23, a product of CF Montréal's academy. Rea's career trajectory highlights the very issue Supra seeks to solve: a lack of local professional minutes forced him to go on loan to the CPL, trial abroad, and play for the Halifax Wanderers before finally securing a return home.
"Previously, there was only Montréal's academy and to get there, you had to go to specific schools," Rea explained. "Talent fell through the cracks... With a team like Supra here, you sign at 18 years old and you can go on loan here and get those minutes." He believes the new club will provide the opportunities he lacked as a youngster and anticipates a strong loan relationship with CF Montréal.
To cast the net wide, FC Supra has already held open trials at eight clubs across Québec, assessing nearly 400 players. This initiative is designed to uncover gems outside the traditional academy system and offer first professional contracts to those who might otherwise be overlooked.
Building a Cultural Institution in a Football-Mad Province
The excitement surrounding the launch is palpable. Football is already the participation sport of choice in Québec, with Soccer Québec programmes attracting about 170,000 people in 2023—far outstripping youth hockey numbers. The arrival of FC Supra, alongside the Northern Super League's Montréal Roses, signifies an unprecedented boom in professional football opportunities in the city.
Rea notes the club is quickly embedding itself in Montréal's fabric, honouring the legacy of the original Supra that played in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "There's a big hype in the city, we can already feel it," he said.
With pre-season commencing in January and more signings, kit launches, and sponsorships to be revealed, FC Supra's ambitious Bilbao-style experiment is poised to kick off. For Placentino and the province's football community, it represents more than just a new team; it's the construction of a vital, homegrown pipeline for Québec's undoubted football talent. "We can't wait to start," he concluded.
