FC Supra to start CPLU Sports draft, adding first roster

Expansion FC Supra du Quebec officially begins stocking its roster Friday with the first two picks of the Canadian Premier League’s USports draft.

Given the franchise leadership’s past ties to Ligue 1 Quebec’s CS Saint-Laurent, Supra no doubt already has another yet-to-be-announced talent ready to roll. And Rocco Placentino, president and co-founder of Supra, already has a strong vision for his side.

“The Supra is going to be a locally based product,” Placentino said in an interview.

His planned all-Quebec side follows the example of Spain’s Atlético Bilbao, which mainly fields players from the Basque region.

Mexico’s Chivas de Guadalajara also has a tradition of signing only Mexican talent, although this includes foreign-born players whose parents were born in Mexico and those whose parents are naturalized Mexican citizens.

Placentino says Supra, which held a trial series earlier this month, will begin announcing the signings of other players in December.

Placentino previously served as sporting director of CS Saint-Laurent of Ligue 1 Quebec. Supra sports director Mateo Cabanettes and head coach Nick Razzazzi also came from Saint Laurent.

Former Canadian international Nick DeSaints, who began his playing career with the Montreal Supers of the Canadian Soccer League and coached the Montreal Impact, has signed on as an executive consultant.

All four know the Quebec market and plan to mine it regularly.

“If I didn’t think Quebec had a lot of talent, I wouldn’t have wasted my last five years putting it together,” Plastinino said. “Maybe I’m a little biased because I’m from Quebec, but we have so much talent in this province… I’m sure FC Supra will be able to develop the next Ismael Kane and Moise Bombito in the near future and not in the distant future.”

Both Canadian internationals came through the CS Saint-Laurent ranks (with Cone joining the ND at 15), Plastinino said, adding that plenty of other Quebec clubs are also developing the talent.

“We can’t wait to work with community clubs and see how we can serve their elite athletes,” he added.

Placentino says he has already held talks with CF Montreal about working together, with the belief that the two teams can complement rather than compete against each other.

“CF Montreal has players who are young and not ready for MLS who might be ready to be part of the CPL,” he said. “In their backyard, they can keep an eye on their players if they are lending us players.”

FC Supra will play out of Laval, sharing the 5,580-capacity Stade Borel with the NSL’s Montreal Rose.

Placentino, a former Canadian international who played for the Montreal Impact as well as a string of Italian sides, promises to play an exciting brand of supra soccer.

“So you won’t see FC Supra kicking and running. You will see FC Supra taking risks going forward, playing the ball on the ground. You will see a FC Supra that has ‘la granta’ (courage and determination), which means never giving up, ruthless on the pitch – a warrior mentality.

“It’s an identity that will never leave,” he added.

Friday’s two-round draft is open to undergraduates who participated in the U-Sports men’s soccer program in 2025.

To date, 115 players have been taken in the US Sports Draft, including eight selected more than once. Of those, 68 went on to sign with CPL clubs including Canadian international defender Joel Waterman (now with the Chicago Fire in MLS) and CF Montreal midfielder Victor Lautrey.

CPL clubs may add up to three players on U Sports contracts to their development roster. Such talent does not count in a club’s player compensation budget.

The draft is an opportunity to allow student athletes the opportunity to gain pro experience while maintaining their varsity eligibility.

Quebec talent is available including midfielders Maxime Bourgeois (University of Sherbrooke) and Kélan Kledjoglou (University of Montreal) and forward Alexandre Marcoux (UQTR).

Supra plans to open training camp in the third week of January.

Supra is the CPL’s third expansion team, following Atletico Ottawa (2020) and Vancouver FC (2023). Its addition will keep the league at eight teams, despite the recent demise of Winnipeg’s Valor FC.