FC Supra du Québec kicks off inaugural CPL season with dramatic late win vs. Pacific: "We waited so long for this"
It was a debut years in the making.
When FC Supra du Québec’s players took the field for their inaugural Canadian Premier League match against Pacific FC on Saturday, they understood what was at stake for them, as they didn’t just carry the hopes of a new club on their shoulders, but the weight of an entire province.
Such is the reality of being the first CPL club from the province of Québec, which has remained a powerhouse in terms of men’s soccer development in Canada, despite having a lack of professional infrastructure to reflect that. Just look at the Canadian Men’s National Team, which relies on several key players hailing from the province, such as Ismaël Koné, Moïse Bombito, Nathan Saliba, and Mathieu Choinière, just to name a few.
À NOUS! ⚜️
— FC Supra Québec (@fcsupraquebec) April 12, 2026
Un moment qu’on n’oubliera jamais.
On se retrouve très bientôt à la maison, le 19 avril au CEPSUM. 🤝⚜️ pic.twitter.com/vpAwVjyV2b
Despite that, there’s been a void in the province over the last decade, because while MLS side CF Montréal has been a key producer of Québecois talent, that’s just one pipeline for players to follow - and several players who haven’t ended up in that pipeline have tended to fall between the cracks (and several who have gone through the club have struggled to pierce their first team before fizzling out).
That’s where Supra’s launch is so key. Not only are they helping fill that gap in professional infrastructure that exists in the province, but they’ve also truly committed themselves to the development of local talent by promising to only field Quebecois players - showing how much they believe in the province’s talent pool.
Yet, that shows why Supra’s club debut was so special, as the players who took the field weren’t just representing their club - they’re hoping to become a project that proves to be a big game-changer for soccer in Québec going forward.
And based on early returns, they’re on the right track. For those who tuned in, they were treated to a wonderfully entertaining match, one that finished with Supra winning 3-2 after a dramatic 90+7th-minute goal from Alexandre Marcoux, the 21-year-old forward who was one of a few Supra players making their professional debuts in this match.
VICTOIRE POUR FC SUPRA ⚜️
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) April 12, 2026
Alexandre Marcoux marque le but décisif pour @fcsupraquebec lors de son match inaugural. pic.twitter.com/L4UjZyFIfy
As one would expect, Supra showed signs of growing pains on their debut, but they overcame that in dramatic fashion thanks to their attitude, resilience and fighter’s mentality on the day.
“Our whole team was in survival mode, and just fought,” Supra coach Nicholas Razzaghi said after the match. “That’s what we want this club to be about, tough, fighting for everything, giving it all until the last second, and that’s what we did.”
While Supra’s first match ended with a dramatic exclamation point from a new player, it’s worth noting that they flexed their experience throughout the match itself. Within their starting lineup, they had two players in David Choinière and Aboubacar Sissoko who have each won multiple North Star Cups, while players Sean Rea and Diyaeddine Abzi have won or been nominated for individual hardware in the CPL.
That experience paid off for them early, as former Valour striker, Loïc Kwemi, scored the club’s first-ever goal on an assist from former Inter Toronto and Halifax Wanderers wing back Clément Bayiha, before Rea (who played for Valour and the Wanderers) chipped in with his team’s second marker.
Yet, that shows that while Supra’s long-term plan is to develop young talent, they’ve still got some experienced players who are ready to make some noise in the short-term.
Just look at Kwemi, who is a prime example of a player who could’ve benefitted from having a club like this to play for much earlier in his career. Now 29, he’s been a dominant force in the amateur game in Québec for years, but professional opportunities have been limited for him until now - he earned that Valour contract as a 27-year-old after impressing for Ligue 1 Québec’s side CS Saint-Laurent in their surprise run through the 2024 Canadian Championship.
C'ÉTAIT ÉCRIT ! Loïc Kwemi inscrit son nom dans les livres d'histoire avec le premier but de l'histoire du club.
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) April 11, 2026
Ce premier but n'est pas seulement un point au tableau, c'est le début d'une nouvelle ère pour le soccer québécois @fcsupraquebec. Le talent de chez nous brille enfin… pic.twitter.com/xxaDOcfVc1
Now, though, he’s relishing the opportunity to lead the line and wear the #9 shirt for Supra, showing why many felt he could’ve been playing at this level - or maybe even at a higher one - had the province had a club like this before. That he made sure to quickly show off his club’s badge after scoring his milestone goal just showed what this opportunity means for him - it’s better late than never when it comes to having the chance to live out a dream.
“My celebration was for all of the Québecois,” Kwemi said. “I know friends, family were watching this game, our first game, so my celebration was to let them know that this was for us, it was about the representation of our club. We want to go get it, we want it all.”
That hunger runs through the rest of this team, too, and that shows why they were able to get off to this hot start.
“Everyone here believes since the first whistle that we could go get it, so we weren’t surprised, but storytelling like that is wonderful, to win it like that is incredible for us,” Kwemi continued. “We’re going to take this win and carry it forward to make it a habit. We give everything to fight, we’re going to fight every single match like we did today.”
Now, Supra knows things that will only get tougher for them. A new club’s challenges are often felt over the course of a long season, especially after the novelty of launch day wears off.
Because of that, Supra know that they’ll have to channel the mentality that they had in this Pacific game, and continue to build on it, starting with their home opener this weekend against defending North Star Cup winners Atlético Ottawa at CEPSUM Stadium in Montréal, in what’s expected to be a special atmosphere.
POV: T’as jamais perdu de l’histoire de la franchise🤭 😏 #PLCSoccer
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) April 12, 2026
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POV: You’ve never lost in franchise history🤭 😏 #CPLSoccer pic.twitter.com/ieERSdcFTG
Until then, though, they’re relishing the opportunity to enjoy a first win together - after all, that’s a feeling they’ll never get to feel again, so why not enjoy a moment that meant so much to both the club and a province that has long waited for a project like this, before turning their attention to that home opener and beyond.
“It meant a lot to us to win our first game,” Razzaghi said. “People probably thought we were over exaggerating with our celebrations, but we waited so long for this, so we’re going to enjoy it.”
“All of Québec was behind us,” Kwemi added. “So we didn’t want to disappoint and made sure to give it our all.”
