In another major milestone, FC Supra du Québec unveiled the first three signings in club history on Wednesday evening.
Local trio David Choiniére, 28, Loïc Kwemi, 28 and Sean Rea, 23, wrote their names in the history books when they put pen to paper with the CPL’s first Québec club.
The signings are an early fulfillment of the club’s mission statement, ‘from here, for here’, intending to build a team made up of local players.
“I’m really blessed to be here, and it’s an honour for me to be part of that team, and to be back in Montréal to represent Québec,” Choinière told CanPL.ca.
The attacker from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is a statement signing for Supra. A Forge FC original, who played nearly 200 matches and won four CPL titles with the Hamilton club, he moves back to his home province as one of the most storied players in league history.
Having scored in two CPL Finals and multiple big goals in the Canadian Championship and Concacaf competition, Choinière earned the nickname “Big Game Dave”.
“Obviously, bring that winning mentality to the club,” said Choinière. “And trying to get everything right from the start, which I know is going to be a challenge, but I’m up for the challenge, and I think we’ve got the right people behind us to do that.”
Rea, another Montrealer, also has plenty of pedigree within the league. He was a Player of the Year nominee, and won the league’s Best Under-21 Canadian Player of the Year while on loan with Valour in 2022. He spent the past two seasons as one of the top players on the Halifax Wanderers, along with time spent in MLS with hometown CF Montréal.
Kwemi spent a half-season in the CPL, but it is across multiple seasons in Ligue1 Québec and the Canadian men’s futsal national team that he truly earned his reputation as one of the province’s most dynamic talents.
“It is a big honour to have a team here in Québec,” said Kwemi. “We all have been waiting for this for a long time now, and it finally arrived.”
The 28-year-old, who was born in Douala, Cameroon, is an incredibly familiar face to Supra management, owing to the several outstanding years he spent with CS Saint-Laurent in Ligue1 Québec. Alongside now Supra president Rocco Placentino, sporting director Mateo Cabanettes and head coach Nick Razzaghi they won a Ligue1 Québec title together.
“To be able to be one of the guys who joins FC Supra, I can see they have really big confidence in me,” said Kwemi. “I don’t take that for granted. My responsibility is to give everything I got, and that’s what I’m going to do, to make them proud, to make the city and the province proud. So that’s my goal.”
Choinière is already excited about the talent that the group is amassing. With himself, Rea and Kwemi, there is the blueprint of a lethal attacking unit.
“[Sean] has so much quality, can create actions from nothing, we know Sean what he can do on a good day, and he’s such a good player,” said Choinière. “And for Loïc, same for him, he made so much noise in the Québec region from his time with Ligue1 Québec… we know his quality. So if we can bring the best of everybody, I think we have a good core right there.”
For Kwemi, seeing signings like Rea and Choinière with so much CPL pedigree join the ranks was an instant boost of confidence.
“You feel like, okay, we’re building something strong here in this team, and to be able to be part of that is a blessing,” he said.
There is, of course, plenty more to come. The team is being constructed in one of North America’s biggest talent hotbeds, with plenty of players eager to show they are deserving of a professional opportunity. With players like former CS Saint-Laurent duo Moïse Bombito, Ismaël Koné, as well as Nathan Saliba and David’s brother Mathieu, all playing big roles for the Canadian men’s national team, and the likes of Evelyne Viens and Gabrielle Carle with the women’s team, there is something of a golden age happening for the sport in Québec.
“I know the talent that we have in this region, in this province,” said Choinière. “If we can get the right players, and we can get a good chemistry from the get-go, I think we’re going ot make a lot of noise in the league, and I can’t wait to get started.”
There is still a long road to that first kickoff. The team needs to make several more signings, there is preseason to contend with, not to mention plenty of off-field details that come with building a club from the ground up. But Kwemi already has his sights set on the club’s home opener and how special that moment will be.
“[I’m] excited to just be there at that first game, to see everyone, some familiar faces, and friends and family and everyone, the fans who are going to be there,” said Kwemi. “It’s going to be a big step for Québec.”