FC Inter-Montréal

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FC Inter-Montréal, also known as Football Club Inter-Montréal, was a Canadian professional soccer team from Montreal. It existed only in 1983 and played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The team played at Jarry Park Stadium (capacity 25,000). It was owned by Bob Laker and coached by Eddie Firmani.

Background: In December 1982 the CPSL announced five ownership groups, including one led by Bob Laker in Montreal. In early 1983 the Montreal Manic of the North American Soccer League decided to become a Team Canada farm club for 1984, cutting many non-Canadian players and angering Italian fans, which lowered attendance. Inter-Montréal was formed the day after that announcement as a potential model franchise for the CPSL. The club had a budget of about $1.2 million, hired Firmani, signed former Manic players Gordon Hill and Bobby Vosmaer, and got Labatt as a sponsor.

Season: Inter-Montréal lost their first game 2–1 to the Toronto Nationals on May 21, 1983. The home opener on June 5 at Jarry Park drew an attendance of 12,412 (a figure later disputed by some reports). Most other games drew about 5,000–6,000 fans. Laker also organized a tournament with European clubs Marseille, Udinese and Avellino. Inter-Montréal beat Marseille 2–0 in the opening game, then beat Udinese in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw on June 19 to win the tournament, with Gordon Hill scoring all the goals in the tournament.

Folding: Only five weeks into the season, after eight league matches, Inter-Montréal folded due to heavy financial losses and trouble paying players, partly because of money spent on the European tournament. Montreal Manic also folded at the end of 1983, leaving Montreal without a pro team until Montreal Supra started in 1988. Attendance for Inter-Montréal’s matches was roughly 12,000 overall, helped by Montreal's large Italian-Canadian community.