After nearly three decades, Montreal’s Major League Soccer team will go through a full rebranding and will be known as the Club de Foot Montreal.
Montreal Impact Primary Logo 2012 - 2020
In 1993, the Montreal Impact soccer team was formed. They became a mainstay in the American Professional Soccer League despite not seeing any success until the team’s second season.
Since the Impact started to become successful, the fan base grew rabid. One of the biggest years in the organization’s history came in 2012 when the Impact joined Major League Soccer. This is North America’s biggest soccer promotion, and this definitely catapulted the team’s notoriety.
However, success did not come easily. Plagued with front office and talent issues, the Impact struggled to be on the top of the leaderboard year after year. A series of coaching changes and players leaving was the precursor of this change.
Given the team’s deep-rooted history in Montreal, the complete rebranding comes as a surprise to some die-hard fans. Since people have known the club to be the Impact for almost 20 years, it is reasonable that some fans will be adverse to the change. However, Owner Joey Saputo isn’t worried about that.
“It’s hard to let go of things you love,” Saputo said in a press conference. “But here’s the reality. To make an impact, we need to retire the Impact.”
It is clear that whether or not fans will be upset is not a big issue with the organization, and rightly so. At the end of the day, Montreal’s rebranding could be far more significant to the organization than just physically changing the name and logo.
The team is working toward a new era of success, one that has not been in Montreal for a long time. Although the fans might be upset in the short term, the monumental changes taking place might be enough to make them come around in the long term.
Club de Foot Montréal Primary Logo 2021 - Present
Now known as Club de Foot Montreal, the team will undergo a full rebranding that encompasses many aspects of the organization. This includes a new logo, one that depicts a gray snowflake inside a black-filled blue circle. The new name of the club is around said snowflake.
Known as CF Montreal for short, the change is coming throughout the entire organization, not just as a name or logo change.
“In order to keep on growing and progressing, we are making an important change," President and CEO of Club de Foot Montréal, Kevin Gilmore told MLS. "This transformation is inspired by the culture of our city, its people, as well as the history of our Club and our sport in Montreal, to lead us into an even brighter future. It’s a great metamorphosis that will stimulate and guide our evolution."
It is clear that a new team is on the horizon and the front office is doing their part to make it happen for the fans. Be sure to look for the new logo and brand this MLS season that is set to start in March or April.
See the Club de Foot Montréal logo history and team history.