FC Supra du Quebec set for CPL debut with a homegrown roster: 'Our biggest strength'

Jesse Marsch called Moise Bombito's late discovery "unacceptable" two summers ago.

The Montreal-born centre back had finally made it to where he belonged — as a member of the Canadian men's national team — but the situation echoed a long-standing problem in Quebec.

One that FC Supra du Quebec is trying to fix.

Without a clear pathway to higher levels in the soccer world, homegrown athletes like Bombito have often gone overlooked or underdeveloped in the province.

"A lot of talented players fell through the cracks, and that's because we didn't have enough of a professional environment for these players," FC Supra president Rocco Placentino said. "That's exactly what Supra is going to prove. We're going to try not to miss this hidden talent."

FC Supra opens its inaugural Canadian Premier League season Saturday in Victoria when the expansion club based in Laval, Que., faces Pacific FC with a squad made entirely of Quebecois players.

The model draws inspiration from Athletic Bilbao, a top-flight Spanish club that has long limited itself to local talent from the Basque Country.

"Quebec-grown players, it's always been something that I personally believed in," Placentino said. "We use examples like Ismael Kone, Moise Bombito that are perfect examples of that, and we really believe that there's more of those types of players to come."

A player the well-travelled Marsch — head coach of Canada's men's team — has likened to some of the world's top defenders, Bombito didn't receive a national call-up at any level until age 23.

Now with OGC Nice in France, the fleet-footed centre back came through Quebec's amateur system before turning to the U.S. college route to reach the pros.

"It is unacceptable that a player like Moise Bombito