CF Montreal is having a dream season and we add the icing on the cake with the return of a group of supporters in Section 132.
The club announced on Tuesday that the section closed to fan groups a year ago would be devoted to them again on Friday, when the Columbus Crew will be at Stade Saputo. The Collectif Impact Montréal will be the new tenant of this part of the bleachers.
It should be remembered that the bickering between the Ultras, unhappy with the change of identity that occurred in January 2021, and the club led to the banishment of several members and the outright closure of the very lively 132 at the beginning of last September.
“Among those who were in 132, some expressed the wish to come back and that was enough for us to think that we could bring the section back to general admission”, explained Patrick Leduc, who is CF Montreal’s Soccer Culture Director. .
That doesn’t mean the Ultras are back at the stadium, though. It is even rather the opposite.
“We no longer want the section to be associated with the Ultras”, explained one of the leaders of the collective, who wished to remain anonymous during a telephone interview with The newspaper.
There was a strong divide between the groups that once ran Section 132 and that’s how the collective was created.
“Since the start of the season, a few groups were starting to push for a comeback and there was a fairly strong difference of opinion and that’s when the collective was created,” he says.
The Gervais effect
We’ve been wanting groups of supporters to return to this end of the stadium for a long time, while the 1642 Montreal will continue to animate the east stand with the bell, in particular.
“There were several discussions before I entered the equation, notes Leduc. Gabriel [Gervais, le président] was present and several other people from the club who had a relationship with the Ultras in the past. »
The representative of Collectif Impact Montréal confirms that Gervais’ contribution was essential to their return.
“Gervais played a big role in our decision to come back because things are getting better and better. We will continue to sing for the Impact, but we were no longer relevant outside the stadium. If we want to bring the Impact back one day, it’s by being positive in the stadium. »
Atmosphere to be expected
With the recent sold-out crowds and the good performance of the team, which ranks second in the MLS Eastern Conference, things could be explosive at Stade Saputo by the end of the season.
“We want there to be atmosphere, we will not hide it. The Collectif IFMC can bring back an atmosphere as we have already experienced in Section 132,” hopes Leduc, a former Impact player.
“We did not just bring 150 supporters out of nowhere, these are people who belonged to the section. We also have something to prove to the club, we have prepared things that will be really cool “, supports the representative of the collective.