MONTREAL 鈥� Montreal鈥檚 Northern Super League team will be known as Roses FC.
And coming to that conclusion wasn鈥檛 a snap decision for team president Annie Larouche.
鈥淲e started working on this back in November,鈥� Larouche said. "It wasn't done with four of us on the corner of the table saying, 'Let's go for this one, let's find a bilingual name.'"
The women鈥檚 professional soccer franchise unveiled the team鈥檚 name and logo on Tuesday night, projecting the new emblem and the club鈥檚 blue, red and gold colours around an event space near the city鈥檚 Old Port.
A who鈥檚 who of the Quebec sporting world was in attendance, including hockey star Marie-Philip Poulin, Super Bowl champion Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and CF Montreal captain Samuel Piette. League co-founder Diana Matheson was also on hand.
The team crest features a blue rose with 鈥淩OSES,鈥� 鈥淢TL鈥� and 鈥淔C鈥� in gold lettering above it. The font draws inspiration from the city鈥檚 鈥淔arine Five Roses鈥� landmark on the edge of the Lachine Canal.
Larouche said the months-long naming process involved working with two committees, one focused on brand and the other as a sounding board with people from various demographics.
鈥淲hen the agencies came up with this name, it was just a perfect fit,鈥� Larouche said. 鈥淚t's bilingual, it's feminine, but it's powerful. It's roots and thorns. It was perfect with what we wanted to build."
Club executives say the team will also go by 鈥淢ontreal Roses鈥� in English and 鈥淟es Roses de Montr茅al鈥� in French.
Team founders Isab猫le Chevalier and Jean-Fran莽ois Crevier said they must have gone through at least 40 names before finding one that stuck.
鈥淲e maybe funnelled it to five and finished with one,鈥� Crevier said.
"And even then we went back, we had another iteration, we came back,鈥� Chevalier added.
Montreal was the league鈥檚 last founding franchise to reveal its branding. Roses FC joins Vancouver Rise FC, Ottawa Rapid FC, Halifax Tides FC, Calgary Wild FC and AFC Toronto.
The Roses haven鈥檛 revealed where they鈥檒l play when the NSL kicks off a 25-game inaugural season in April, but say they鈥檒l be able to announce it by the end of the year.
Larouche said the team has looked at options all around Montreal and will likely draw inspiration from the city's Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League outfit, which played home games at the 3,795-capacity Verdun Auditorium, 10,000-seat Place Bell and 21,000-occupancy Bell Centre in its inaugural season.
鈥淲e might do this for the first year, or even more,鈥� said Larouche, who left the Canadian Elite Basketball League鈥檚 Montreal Alliance to take the new job. 鈥淲e just want to make sure that we find the right field, the right stadium for us. You don't want a big stadium that is empty.鈥�
French soccer legend Marinette Pichon, who scored 81 goals in 112 international games, will serve as sporting director and the club hired Robert Rositoiu as head coach last month.
Next up, the Roses need players 鈥� and Pichon said they鈥檙e almost ready to announce 鈥渕ore than a couple鈥� signings.
"To be honest, we are in a very good way,鈥� Pichon said. 鈥淲e have players now already engaged with the club. We've been through the process of the contract and signing the contract.
鈥淲e worked a lot in the Quebec province and Canada because we want to give those girls the opportunity to move up without needing to sign a contract somewhere else in Europe or the U.S.鈥�
Each NSL team is expected to have a $1.5-million initial salary cap for 20 to 25 players on a roster and the minimum salary is $50,000. Franchises will be allowed up to seven foreign players and one marquee player whose salary will only account for $75,000 against the cap.
For reference, the NWSL 鈥� the top tier in the United States 鈥� increased its salary cap to US$2.75 million in 2024 from $1.375 million in 2023 for 22- to 26-player rosters.
With that budget, Pichon wouldn鈥檛 rule out recruiting French-speaking Canadian Olympians such as Evelyne Viens, who plays for AS Roma in Italy, and Gabrielle Carle of the NWSL鈥檚 Washington Spirit down the line.
"Or (star Canadian centre back) Vanessa Gilles,鈥� Pichon added. 鈥淭he first thought was, 'OK, we need to contact them and talk to them' ... but when you are involved in a wonderful league, like Evelyne at AS Roma or Vanessa Gilles in Lyon, it's very hard to be competitive against them for the first two years.
鈥淚'm sure in a couple years they will come over and say, 'OK, now I need to bring my experiences, my expertise, to make sure that this league will go up as well.'"
That won鈥檛 stop Larouche and Pichon from reaching out to those stars and showing off the new branding on Tuesday night.
鈥淲e're still in contact,鈥� Pichon said. 鈥淭hey're very involved about what's happening here in Canada, and they want to come over.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
