FC Supra du Québec are drawing comparisons to Athletic Bilbao as they attempt to build a football club rooted entirely to Québécois players.
The Canadian Premier League club have just begun their inaugural campaign since being formed.
Their project is focused on developing a squad that is made up of Québec-born or Québec-developed players.
Québec, which is home to an estimated nine million people, has produced their fair share of Canada’s top footballers.
The national team is full of players from the province, including Ismaël Koné, who you might remember used to play for Watford and is now at Sassuolo in the Serie A.
FC Supra want to focus on local players who may have overlooked, especially by Major League Soccer side and neighbors CF Montréal.
For years CF Montréal stood as the province’s only professional club, leaving a restricted pathway between grassroots football and the professional game.
The idea is inspired by Athletic Bilbao, one of football’s most distinctive clubs, which has built its entire identity around recruiting players from the Basque country or those developed within its footballing system.
The philosophy has been a resounding success for Bilbao, as they are one of the few clubs in the world to never be relegated from their countries top division.
FC Supra du Québec are not attempting to replicate that model strictly but are still following the principles, as they use local development as the foundation of the club’s identity.
They did in fact win their first game of the league season and first as a football club against Pacific.
However following that 3-2 win, the newly-formed side narrowly lost to Ottawa 1-0 in their first ever home match.
Early results suggest a club still finding its footing but they are already beginning to define itself on and off the pitch.
The results matter less at this stage compared to the structure they are trying to build, but the future is bright for FC Supra.
