By representing its region’s distinct culture and players, the Canadian Premier League team aims to boost the province’s undoubted soccer potential
B
oulevard Saint-Laurent is one of Montréal’s great arteries, a throughway for gourmands coveting smoked meat sandwiches or proper pizza at one of a dozen different joints in Little Italy. It’s also home to Evangelista Sports, a shop that has doubled as a shrine to the city’s soccer-obsessed for more than 40 years and is every bit a part of Montréal’s cultural fabric as poutine or lamenting the cold.
It’s also where FC Supra du Québec opted to announce their first-ever signings last week. The Canadian Premier League (CPL) expansion team is looking to become part of the city and province’s cultural identity, hoping their commitment to recruiting a full roster of Québec-born or raised players, inspired by European clubs like Athletic Bilbao, will go a long way in helping to build a pathway which has so often seen talent slip through the cracks.
“We needed it, the players needed it, the youth in this province needed it,” says club president and co-founder Rocco Placentino. “We needed to have a CPL team. I know I sound biased because I’m from here but we have a lot of talent in Québec, a lot of talent.”
