UPDATED: CS Saint-Laurent, CPL discussing promotion from Ligue1 Québec
Ligue1 Québec champions CS Saint-Laurent are in the midst of a magical Canadian Championship run, capturing the imaginations of football fans across the country as they prepare to again faceoff against MLS giants in the form of Toronto FC on May 21.
But fans aren't the only ones impressed with the semi-professional club as CS Saint-Laurent and the CPL have entered into preliminary expansion talks to potentially promote the Ligue1 Québec side, sources briefed on the negotiations told The Wanderers Notebook.
Sources noted CS Saint-Laurent's performances, which included being the first Québec-based semi-pro club to knockout a professional outfit, have put them on the national map. Several investors have expressed interest in the club over the last few weeks, potentially giving CS Saint-Laurent the financial capital to make the jump to the next level.
Still, negotiations are in the early stages as both sides work towards a path forward.
When contacted for comment, the CPL said they won't disclose any ongoing discussions as it relates to potential league expansion at this time.
"We are proud of the success of our League1 clubs across Canada and welcome the possibility of any such organization joining the Canadian Premier League in future. As with any expansion discussion, our priority is finding the right conditions for an organization to be successful, including but not limited to a passionate fan base, committed ownership group and stadium solution," said Laura Armstrong, the CPL's senior director for communications in an emailed response.
CS Saint-Laurent is a club on the rise
Although he wouldn't comment on expansion talks, Rocco Placentino — CS Saint-Laurent's sporting director for the last 12-years — said he hopes his side's Canadian Championship run has showcased the incredible talent and passion for football in his province.
"We've been saying it for a while: we need a CPL team in Québec," said Placentino in an interview with The Wanderers Notebook. “We have a ton of talent here in Québec and we want to showcase them. I don’t think just having CF Montréal, which I love dearly because I played for them for five years and they're the team I have at heart, is enough but I think they would appreciate having more avenues for kids in our province.”
CS Saint-Laurent has grown tremendously under Placentino. When he arrived in 2012, the club had roughly 800 registrations but has blossomed to over 2,000 in 2023. The club also has a winning pedigree, winning 11 provincial championships, including the Ligue1 Québec title last year.
And CS Saint-Laurent has a history of fostering talent: Canadian international Ismaël Koné developed at the club before heading to CF Montréal and then Watford FC in the EFL Championship. Nine former CS Saint-Laurent members are currently playing in the NCAA.
The last several weeks, said Placentino, have shown his club has the talent to compete.
"For us, we felt we could keep up at this level if put in a professional environment," he said. "At the end of the day, the team's performance has been extremely good. We played against one of the best teams in MLS, which we dearly respect and we're so grateful."
Having a Québec-based CPL club would be huge for the province in terms of exposure, he said.
“When you’re playing in the CPL, it’s way easier to showcase your talent. You’re on OneSoccer, you’re on Fubo, there’s interviews, there’s highlights. There’s so many different levels of exposure. It just helps out everybody," Placentino explained.
And after an exciting home leg which saw roughly 6,500 fans cheering on CS Saint-Laurent at the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard in Montréal, Placentino stressed the journey isn't over yet as they travel to BMO Field to test themselves against Toronto FC a second time.
"We're going to play," he said.
Adding a club in the Province of Québec is a top league priority
The CPL has long shared its desire to expand into la belle province but progress has come in stops and starts. Rumours, specifically around a potential franchise in Québec City, have dominated headlines for years.
Speaking to media as recently as April, Noonan again expressed the league's desire to add a club in French Canada, calling it a top priority.
"It's important because we need a club down there, it's important because of the media distribution down there," he told The Wanderers Notebook on April 12. "We're having very active conversations in the province with some significant people. As I stated earlier, the issue is facility. If we wanted to play in an existing facility that doesn't work, we could do that."
Facilities, or the lack thereof, is one of the main complications for the CPL as they explore expansion sites across Canada. Noonan has noted on several occasions that the league won't compromise by adding clubs with inappropriate stadiums.
"We can expand tomorrow if we want to go into the wrong facility with CFL lines stitched into artificial turf. We could have expanded by four clubs already and we've had people who wanted to do that and we've said no," he said.
But could the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard — formerly the home of the Montréal Impact from 1993 to 2007 — serve as a stadium for the league's first Québec-based club?
Only time will tell but the crowd and atmosphere during the Canadian Championship match certainly makes it seem like an option, similar to CS Saint-Laurent, worth exploring.
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Photo Credit: CS Saint-Laurent
