| Full name | Montreal Impact (English) Impact de Montréal (French) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Impact | ||
| Founded | 2010 (1992) | ||
| Ground | Saputo Stadium Montreal, Quebec (Capacity: 20,341) |
||
| Owner | Joey Saputo | ||
| Head Coach | Jesse Marsch | ||
| League | Major League Soccer | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
|
|||
| Current season | |||
The Montreal Impact (French: Impact de Montréal) is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada.
As Major League Soccer's 19th franchise and third Canadian club, the Impact replace the second division team of same name. The new team is run by the old organization's ownership group, led by owner Joey Saputo.
Contents |
Toward the end of 2007, much speculation had been made about a possible franchise move for the lower division Impact to Major League Soccer. The construction of the expandable Saputo Stadium further suggests an interest on the part of the group to move up to the top level North American league. Although Toronto FC held a three-year Canadian exclusivity deal that did not expire until 2009, they stated in March 2008 that they would gladly welcome the Impact into MLS.[1] Chairman Joey Saputo held talks with George Gillett (former co-owner of Liverpool F.C. and owner of the Montreal Canadiens) regarding possible joint ownership of a franchise.[2] On July 24, 2008, MLS announced they were seeking to add two expansion teams for the 2011 season, of which Montreal was listed as a potential candidate.[3]
On November 22, 2008, the group's bid for an MLS franchise was not retained by commissioner Don Garber. In response to Vancouver's successful bid in March 2009, Impact GM Nick De Santis commented that he expected chairman Saputo to pursue and ultimately realize his vision of Montreal as an MLS franchise someday.[4] By May 16, 2009, the Montreal Gazette reported Garber and Saputo had resumed talks for an expansion team to begin play in 2011.[5]
On May 7, 2010, Garber and Saputo officially announced Montreal as the nineteenth club in Major League Soccer, set to begin play for the 2012 season.[6] The MLS franchise will be privately owned by the Saputo family.[7]
On June 14, 2011, the Montreal Impact announced they've reached a five-year agreement with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) to become lead sponsor and jersey sponsor when they join MLS as an expansion team in 2012.[8]
In regards to keeping the name "Impact", Montreal stated its intention "to maintain its name and global team image". The official logo for the team was revealed at the start of a match between the NASL Montreal Impact team and the NSC Minnesota Stars on August 6, 2011.[9][10][11][12][13]
The logo is a shield in blue, black, white and silver containing a stylized fleur-de-lis and four silver stars, overlaid with the Impact wordmark. The fleur-de-lis, which also appeared on the logo of the NASL Impact team, is a globally recognized symbol of French heritage, and features prominently on the flag of Quebec as a reflection of French Canadian culture. The four stars represent the four founding communities of Montreal identified on the city's coat of arms.
Montreal will play its home games at Saputo Stadium, built for the second division Impact but designed with expansion in mind anticipating a move to MLS. The Quebec government announced $23 million funding to expand to more than 20,000 and to build a training field with a synthetic turf next door.[7]
If needed, the neighboring Olympic Stadium will also be used for special events which demand a larger capacity (examples of these include the team's home opener, the MLS All-Star Game, playoff games, or fall/winter international games)[14]
It was announced on July 17, 2011 that the expansion of the Saputo Stadium would be delayed and not ready in time for the MLS opener. As a consequence, the team’s first home game and perhaps several others will be played at the Olympic Stadium.[15]
TVA Sports will serve as the official French-language broadcaster of all Impact games not broadcast as a part of the league's contract with the TSN family of networks (which includes French-language sports channel RDS). TVA Sports will air 24 games during the team's inaugural season.[16] CKGM, which recently re-launched as part of the TSN Radio system, will serve as the English-language radio flagship of the Impact.[17]
As of December 20, 2011.[18]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
As of November 29, 2011.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||