MONTREAL – The president of the Montreal Impact Joey Saputo and the Commissioner of Major League Soccer Don Garber addressed some 350 members of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on Wednesday, at the downtown Le Centre Sheraton.
With less than a month until the Montreal Impact’s inaugural game, Garber discussed the positive effects of the arrival of MLS in the province and the importance of Montreal joining MLS.
“We are very excited to be in Montreal,” said Commissioner Garber. “The large crowd in attendance today goes to show how dedicated you all are in developing something for your community that bring them together and celebrate something very special.”
Garber, in his address, discussed the growth of the league as attendance is at an all-time high, with some 18,000 fans taking in MLS games on average last year, and discussed what he thought the future might be.
“Our goal is not to compete with the NHL, the NFL or MLB as we are very different from them,” he added. “Our goal is that when people think of La Liga (Spain), the English Premier League or Italy’s Serie A, they think of MLS as well.”
And the commissioner believes that Quebec, and Montreal in particular, is a market that is representative of the league’s blend of different countries and cultures.
“Quebec represents the international character that really personifies what is great about our sport. And this is what is driving and empowering this opportunity we have to create a very vibrant and popular sport in the U.S. and Canada.”
“We have, in Montreal, an extraordinary environment for both fans and players in MLS, a perfect mix of North American style and a European culture,” said Joey Saputo. “As we have done in the past, we aim to bring in the best players available here to put a good product on the field, but also to create a relationship with our supporters; a sense of attachment to their team.”
