FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – CF Montréal will start its 2021 season, presented by BMO, this Saturday, at 2pm (TVA Sports, TVA, TSN, CTV, 91.9 Sports, TSN690.ca), against its rival, Toronto FC, in its temporary home, the DRV PNK (Drive Pink) Stadium, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
After a few weeks in Montreal, the team flew to Orlando, Florida, on April 6, to end its training camp, presented by Allstate Insurance, playing two preseason games against Tormenta FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Montreal will share, starting today, the installations of Inter Miami CF to start the season, including the season opener on Saturday, presented by BMO.
New faces from all around the world
Head coach Wilfried Nancy’s current roster has 35 players under contract, including five Homegrowns from the CF Montréal Academy who were loaned out to Canadian Premier League clubs for the 2021 season.
In 2021, there are 10 new players: goalkeeper Sebastian Breza, defenders Zorhan Bassong, Kamal Miller and Kiki Struna, midfielders Ahmed Hamdi, Djordje Mihailovic and Joaquín Torres, as well as forwards Erik Hurtado, Sunusi Ibrahim and Bjørn Johnsen.
A total of 14 countries are represented in the first team’s roster: Canada (18), USA (4), Argentina (2), England (1), Egypt (1), Finland (1), France (1), Honduras (1), Kenya (1), Nigeria (1), Norway (1), Uganda (1), Senegal (1) and Slovenia (1).
A 34-game season
In 2021, CFMTL will be playing in the Eastern Conference with 13 other clubs. Montreal will play three games against six opponents from its conference: Atlanta United FC, FC Cincinnati, Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC, Orlando City SC, and Toronto FC. CF Montréal will play two games against each of the other seven clubs in the Eastern Conference and will also face two teams from the Western Conference: Vancouver and Houston.
The seven highest ranked teams of each conference will qualify for the MLS playoffs, which begin on November 19. The MLS Cup final will be played on December 11.
As it was the case last season, each team will follow strict health and safety protocols, including COVID-19 testing on a regular basis. The possibility of playing home games in Montreal will be studied when there will be developments on traveling protocols, in relation with public health and guidelines from different levels of government.
All 34 games will be broadcast on television on TVA Sports, as well as on radio in French on 91.9 Sports and in English on TSN 690.
New in 2021, Collectif CFM, presented by Videotron, gives Season Ticket Members, as well as paid subscribers (only $4.99/month), access to behind-the-scenes content, live streaming, the new Le 45 podcast, as well as discounts on merch and tickets. Get more information or subscribe now here: http://collectif.cfmontreal.com/.
2021 ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Sebastian Breza, Clément Diop, James Pantemis, Jonathan Sirois (on loan at Valour FC)
Defenders: Zorhan Bassong, Clément Bayiha, Luis Binks, Zachary Brault-Guillard, Rudy Camacho, Keesean Ferdinand (on loan at Atlético Ottawa), Mustafa Kizza, Kamal Miller, Kiki Struna, Joel Waterman, Karifa Yao (on loan at Cavalry FC)
Midfielders: Jean-Aniel Assi, Mathieu Choinière, Tomas Giraldo (on loan at FC Edmonton), Ahmed Hamdi, Lassi Lappalainen, Emanuel Maciel, Djordje Mihailovic, Samuel Piette, Sean Rea (on loan at Valour FC), Nathan-Dylan Saliba, Amar Sejdic, Ballou Tabla, Joaquín Torres, Victor Wanyama, Rida Zouhir
Forwards: Erik Hurtado, Sunusi Ibrahim, Bjørn Johnsen, Romell Quioto, Mason Toye
COACHING STAFF
Head coach: Wilfried Nancy
Assistant coaches: Kwame Ampadu, Laurent Ciman, Jason Di Tullio
Goalkeeper coach: Rémy Vercoutre
Fitness coach: Jules Gueguen
Video analyst: Maxime Chalier
