Montreal Impact

Impact de Montréal FC were founded in December 1992 when the Saputo family acquired a new franchise in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL), at the time the top flight of professional U.S. and Canadian soccer, which was set to begin competition for the 1993 season. In 1994, the Impact defeated the Colorado Foxes 1–0 at Centre Claude Robillard in Montréal, in front of a crowd of 8,169. The victory was the first championship for a professional soccer club from the city of Montréal. The Impact were regular season champions for three consecutive seasons; from 1995 to 1996 in the APSL (rebranded as the A-League), and in 1997 as part of the post-merger USISL A-League. In 2004, the Impact won the A-League championship by defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0 at Centre Claude Robillard in Montréal, in front of a crowd of 13,648—a new attendance record for the club at the time.

The A-League was renamed the USL First Division in November 2004. The Impact started the 2005 season with a 15-game undefeated streak and finished 10 points clear of second place to win the Commissioner's Cup. They were knocked out in the playoffs semi-finals by the Seattle Sounders. That same year, the club announced the construction of Stade Saputo, a soccer-specific stadium and the club's current home, which opened on May 19, 2008. The Impact repeated as Commissioner's Cup winners in 2006 and won their first USL playoff championship in 2009 after they defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 6–3 on aggregate in the two-legged final. The second leg was played at Stade Saputo in front of a crowd of 13,034.

The Impact won the first seven editions of the Voyageurs Cup, the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada awarded to the best Canadian team in the USL First Division, from 2002 to 2007. Since 2008, the trophy has been awarded to the winner of the Canadian Championship. The Impact won the first edition of the competition in 2008 which qualified the club for the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League, their first continental tournament. The club advanced through the preliminary and group stages to the Champions League quarterfinals, where the Impact were defeated 5–4 on aggregate by Mexican club Santos Laguna. In 2009, the Impact announced plans to join the breakaway North American Soccer League (NASL), a new second division league, but due to legal disputes with the USL, they instead joined the temporary USSF Division 2 Professional League for one season in 2010. The Impact finished third in the league's NASL Conference and lost in the semifinals to Carolina RailHawks FC. The team also lead the league in average attendance with 12,608 spectators per match. Montréal ultimately played in the NASL for one season, failing to qualify for the playoffs, before being replaced by their MLS incarnation.

Toward the end of 2007, much speculation had been made about a possible franchise move for the lower division Impact to Major League Soccer (MLS). The construction of the expandable Saputo Stadium further suggested an interest on the part of the group to move up to the top-level North American league. Although Toronto FC held a three-year Canadian exclusivity deal that did not expire until 2009, they stated in March 2008 that they would gladly welcome the Impact into MLS.

Chairman Joey Saputo held talks with George Gillett (former co-owner of Liverpool F.C. and former owner of the Montreal Canadiens) regarding possible joint ownership of a franchise. On July 24, 2008, MLS announced they were seeking to add two expansion teams for the 2011 season, of which Montreal was listed as a potential candidate.

On November 22, 2008, the group's bid for an MLS franchise was not retained by commissioner Don Garber. In response to Vancouver's successful bid in March 2009, Impact GM Nick De Santis commented that he expected chairman Saputo to pursue and realize his vision of Montreal as an MLS franchise someday. By May 16, 2009, the Montreal Gazette reported Garber and Saputo had resumed talks for an expansion team to begin play in 2011.

On May 7, 2010, Garber and Saputo announced Montreal as the nineteenth club in Major League Soccer, set to begin play for the 2012 season. The MLS franchise is privately owned by the Saputo family.

On June 14, 2011, the Montreal Impact announced a five-year agreement with the Bank of Montreal to become their lead sponsor and jersey sponsor in MLS.

In August 2011, Jesse Marsch became the Impact's new head coach. The club began building their roster for their inaugural MLS season in October 2011 with the signing of defenseman Nelson Rivas, previously of Inter Milan. From their NASL roster, the Impact re-signed defender Hassoun Camara, goalkeeper Evan Bush and midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic to new MLS contracts. Through the MLS expansion draft, the Impact were able to select in November 2011 ten more players, most notably midfielder and American international Justin Mapp. The Impact also traded for Davy Arnaud from Sporting Kansas City who would eventually become the team's first MLS captain. In December 2011, the club signed long-time Impact goalkeeper and Canadian international Greg Sutton, midfielder, Canadian international, future team captain and future Canada Soccer hall of famer Patrice Bernier, and Brazilian midfielder Felipe Martins. Veteran forward and long-time Impact player Eduardo Sebrango was invited to training camp and in February 2012 was awarded an MLS contract.

2012 season

On March 10, 2012, the Impact played their inaugural MLS game, a 2–0 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. A week later, the club made its home debut at the Olympic Stadium against the Chicago Fire, the game ending in a 1–1 draw. The match attracted 58,912 spectators, surpassing the previous record for professional soccer in Montréal established in a 1981 Montreal Manic home game against the Chicago Sting (58,542). On May 12, 2012, the Impact set a new attendance record for a professional soccer match in Canada with a crowd of 60,860 spectators during a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy which ended in 1–1 draw. On May 24, 2012, the club announced the signing of their first ever MLS Designated Player in Marco Di Vaio, previously of Bologna F.C. 1909. Di Vaio signed with the Impact after 14 seasons in Serie A and went on to score 34 goals in 76 appearances from 2012 to 2014 with the club. The Impact finished the 2012 regular season in seventh place in the Eastern conference with a record of 12 wins, 16 losses, and 6 ties. On November 3, 2012, head coach Jesse Marsch stepped down due to a difference of opinion with club management over how the team should move forward.

2013 season

On January 7, 2013, the Impact named Marco Schällibaum as head coach. Schällibaum had previously coached nearly 10 years in the Swiss Super League. On February 23, the Impact won the 2013 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, beating Columbus Crew 1–0 in the final during their pre-season campaign. On May 29, the club won the 2013 Canadian Championship by defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the final, the Impact's first major trophy since joining MLS and their eighth Voyageurs Cup. As Canadian Champions, the Impact earned a spot in the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, their second ever birth and first birth since joinging MLS as an expansion team.^[] The club finished the 2013 MLS regular season with a record of 14 wins, 13 losses, and 7 ties which earned them their first-ever MLS playoff berth, finishing in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Impact were eliminated by the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round. The club announced on December 18 that Marco Schällibaum would not return and former Chicago Fire coach Frank Klopas would replace him as the Impact's new head coach.

2014 season

The Impact became repeat Voyageurs Cup champions by defeating Toronto FC in the 2014 Canadian Championship final on June 4, 2014. Despite their success in the domestic cup, the Impact struggled in league play. The Impact finished the 2014 MLS season with a record of 6–18–10 (W-L-D), finishing last in the league.

2014 -2015 CONCACAF Champions League run

The Impact were drawn into group 3 with C.D. FAS of El Salvador and MLS rivals New York Red Bulls. With only the winner of each group advancing to the knockout stage, the Impact went undefeated in the group stage with 3 wins and a draw to win the group.

Quarterfinals

In the quarterfinals, the Impact took an early 2–0 lead against Pachuca in the first leg at Estadio Hidalgo but the Mexican club fought back to draw the game 2-2. Despite the Impact's inability to hold the lead, the 2 away goals gave the Impact an edge for the return leg. On March 3, 2015, at Olympic Stadium in Montréal, Pachuca took the lead in the 80th minute when referee Walter López awarded a penalty to the Mexican side and Germán Ezequiel Cano Recalde gave his team the lead. However, in the dying seconds of stoppage time, substitute Cameron Porter controlled a long pass from Callum Mallace, fought off a defender and slipped the ball between the legs of Pachuca's goalkeeper to tie the game thus sending the Impact to the semi-finals on away goals (3-3 aggregate). The Impact became the first Canadian club to win a two-legged series against a Mexican opponent.

Porter's goal

Cameron Porter was drafted 45th overall on January 15, 2015, by the Impact in the MLS SuperDraft. He made his professional debut on February 24 of that same year as an 81st-minute substitute against Pachuca in the first leg of the quarterfinals. His goal in stoppage time (90+4) in the second leg was the first professional goal of his career and his only goal for the Impact. Porter suffered a serious injury to his left knee less than a month later which required surgery to repair a torn ACL. He retired from professional soccer in 2018 at the early age of 24. Porter's goal immortalised him as a club legend in the minds of Impact supporters despite only ever playing in two MLS games for the club.

Semi-finals

The Impact faced Alajuelense of Costa Rica in the semi-finals who had dispatched D.C. United in the previous round. In the first leg, the Impact defeated the Costa Rican club 2–0 at Olympic Stadium in Montréal in front of a crowd of 33,675. Alajuelense's failure to score a goal in Montréal would prove to be fatal three weeks later when the teams met again for the return leg in Alajuela. The Impact opened the scoring just before the half to secure that all important away goal. Despite Alajuelense's two late goals to win the game 4–2, the Impact advanced to the finals on away goals (4-4 on aggregate).

Finals

The Impact became the first Canadian club and only the second MLS club to advance to the CONCACAF Champion's League finals and would face Club América. The first leg in Mexico resulted in a 1–1 draw at the Azteca in Mexico City on April 22, 2015. A week later the teams met again at the Olympic Stadium in Montréal in front of a sold-out crowd of 61,004. The home team scored in the 8th minute when Nacho Piatti moved swiftly past three América players and passed to an open Andrés Romero who slotted the ball past the Mexican goalkeeper. The first half ended with the Impact ahead 1–0 in the game and 2–1 on aggregate. However, Club América scored four goals in the second half and the game ended 4–2 to América (5-3 on aggregate).

On August 29, 2015, head coach Frank Klopas was fired and replaced on an interim basis by former Impact player Mauro Biello. After qualifying for the playoffs and defeating Toronto FC in the first round before being eliminated in the Conference semi-finals by the Columbus Crew, Biello was hired permanently. The team was also boosted mid-season by the arrival of Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba, formerly of Chelsea.

Biello was dismissed by the club in October 2017 after failing to qualify for the playoffs and was succeeded by Rémi Garde, formerly of Aston Villa. Garde was himself dismissed in August 2019 and replaced by former Colombian football defender Wilmer Cabrera on an interim basis. During Cabrera's time at the helm of the team, the Impact won the 2019 Canadian Championship defeating Toronto FC in the finals. Despite his success in the Canadian Championship, Cabrera failed to lead the team to the MLS playoffs and his contract was not renewed for the following season.

In November 2019, former France international Thierry Henry signed a two-year deal to coach the Impact. In his first season, the team made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but were eliminated 2–1 by the New England Revolution in the first round. That same year, the Impact's first Champions League campaign since the 2015 final ended in the quarter-finals, with away goals elimination by Hondurian club C.D. Olimpia. Henry resigned in February 2021 stating family reasons for his decision to step down as head coach. In a press release, he said: "The last year has been an extremely difficult one for me personally. Due to the worldwide pandemic, I was unable to see my children. Unfortunately due to the ongoing restrictions and the fact that we will have to relocate to the U.S. again for several months will be no different. The separation is too much of a strain for me and my kids. Therefore, it is with much sadness that I must take the decision to return to London and leave CF Montreal." Following Henry's abrupt departure, assistant coach Wilfried Nancy was named interim head coach and following an impressive start to his first season, Nancy was made permanent and his contract renewed in May 2021 as head coach for 2022.

CF Montréal finished the 2022 MLS season in second place in the Eastern Conference and third place overall, the club's highest finish since their inaugural 2012 season in MLS. The club set a total of 8 new club records including for the number of wins in a season (20) and points in a regular season (65). They also set 2 new all-time MLS records for most road wins in a single season (11) and most consecutive road wins (7). CF Montréal were knocked out of the 2022 MLS playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by New York City FC by a score of 3–1, at Stade Saputo. CF Montréal also set new club records for income earned from the sale of players with the sale of Djordje Mihailovic to AZ Alkmaar, Alistair Johnston to Celtic FC and Ismaël Koné to Watford FC. MLS 2022 Coach of the Year candidate, Wilfried Nancy left the club and signed with Columbus Crew in December 2022 and was replaced with former D.C. United head coach Hernán Losada. It was reported that Nancy had agreed with management to finish the season with CF Montréal following a verbal conflict with club owner, Joey Saputo, after a 3–0 loss to Sporting Kansas City in July but that he would be leaving the club after the end of the season.

On June 27, 2023, CF Montréal manager Losada gave six Québecois players a start in a 1–0 league win over the New England Revolution: it was the highest number of locally-based players ever featured in the starting XI since the team had first joined MLS.

CF Montréal parted ways with Losada after the 2023 regular season.