MONTREAL – CF Montréal announced on Thursday the signing of a new agreement with Olivier Renard, extending for an indefinite period his mandate as head of the technical team. He will now serve as Vice-President and Chief Sporting Officer and will sit on the organization's executive committee. He will continue to report directly to Gabriel Gervais.
As part of his duties, Olivier remains responsible for recruiting, signing and supervising players, as well as managing the first-team’s salary mass. The entire technical team, which includes the coaching staff, technical staff, therapy staff and doctors, will continue to report to him. He will also continue to oversee the activities of the Club’s Academy.
“The agreement with Olivier reflects a common desire to perpetuate the collaboration initiated in 2019 and puts him at the heart of the corporate structure that we are putting in place”, said CF Montréal’s Chairman of the board of directors, Joey Saputo. “I have always been convinced that he should stay with us and, more specifically, as an employee and an executive of the organization. Since joining us, Olivier has largely contributed to the development of the team. His vision, his leadership, his philosophy, his intelligence, and his flair for targeting new talent and developing players will take our Club even further.”
“Joey got it right three years ago when he hired Olivier as technical director”, said CF Montréal President and CEO Gabriel Gervais. “Olivier shares the organization's values, and his appointment is part of a long-term perspective, while promoting the stability needed for the Club’s sporting operations. I'm very excited to have him on my management team now, alongside the Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Vice-President and Chief Human Resources Officer, and eventually the person who will serve as Vice-President of Marketing and Communications Officer, once hired."
“This new employment contract gives me the professional stability that I was looking for, for my family and myself. We love Montreal and we feel good here. I fully support the organization's mission and project regarding its role within the community, in particular the promotion of Quebec’s soccer culture, and the development of local talent, from the youth to professional level.”, said Olivier Renard.
From player to technical director
Aged 43, Olivier Renard was named Montréal Impact’s technical director in September 2019. Since then, he has brought a new energy to the team, characterized by youth and a fair balance between local and international talent, namely transforming CF Montréal into the MLS club with the most Canadian players in its squad.
Before arriving in Montreal, he was the sporting director of Belgian clubs KV Mechelen and Standard de Liège, from 2014 to 2016, and from 2016 to 2019 respectively. He also sat on the executive board of Royal Antwerp FC, as a sporting consultant.
As a player, Renard spent several seasons as a professional goalkeeper, in Belgium, with Sporting de Charleroi, Standard de Liège, and KV Mechelen, as well as in Italy with Udinese, Modena FC and SSC Napoli.
He also represented Belgium at the U-18, U-19 and U-20 levels, participating in the Under-20 World Cup in 1997. He also played with the Belgian national team, from 2008 to 2012.
About CF Montréal
Founded in 1992, and having completed its first season in 1993, CF Montréal is a professional soccer club that has been playing in Major League Soccer, North America’s top division, since 2012. It has won the Canadian Championship five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021), and has also reached the CONCACAF Champions League final in 2015, as well as the competition’s quarterfinals in 2009, and, more recently, in March 2022. CF Montréal plays its home games at Stade Saputo, a 19,619-seat soccer-specific venue, and on some occasions at the Montreal Olympic Stadium.
In 2010, the organization established the CF Montréal Academy, a training center for 13-20 years-old soccer players as part of its development pyramid. The Academy has close to 80 players in its program and reaches hundreds of additional players through the Pre-Academy, partner clubs and its regional programs. CF Montréal is the first and only professional club in North America to offer a sport-study program for youths as young as 12 years old within its Academy.
Through the Montreal Impact Foundation, CF Montréal is very involved in the community. Its mission is to organize and support activities to improve the quality of life of children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. It also provides sports facilities to promote physical activity and social integration.
