Canadian players receive bursary from Impact

Eighteen Canadian youth players have been named recipients of the Impact de Montréal’s 2008 athletic excellence bursary program (the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec). The program now promises $90,000 over the next three years, $27,000 of which will be split by the 18 players recognised at this Saturday’s Fédération de soccer du Quebec annual general meeting.



“We are excited with this partnership renewal, which will allow the expansion of the Impact de Montréal bursary program for the next three years,” said Claude Chagnon, president of the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec. “This not only represents significant financial support for the young recipients, but it also serves as a major source of motivation, encouraging athletes to pursue their dreams and strive for excellence.”

Eighteen Canadian youth players have been named recipients of the Impact de Montréal’s 2008 athletic excellence bursary program (the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec). The program now promises $90,000 over the next three years, $27,000 of which will be split by the 18 players recognised at this Saturday’s Fédération de soccer du Quebec annual general meeting.



“We are excited with this partnership renewal, which will allow the expansion of the Impact de Montréal bursary program for the next three years,” said Claude Chagnon, president of the Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence du Québec. “This not only represents significant financial support for the young recipients, but it also serves as a major source of motivation, encouraging athletes to pursue their dreams and strive for excellence.”



Included in this year’s group are five members of the Canadian team that reached the quarter-final stage of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup New Zealand 2008. Rachel Lamarre, Marialye Laramée-Trottier, Cynthia Leblanc, Annick Maltais and Geneviève Richard will all receive $2,000 as part of the elite category.



Félix Cardin, Nana Diderot, Amine Meftouh and Jeankenson Succès round out the nine-player elite category. All four boys won gold medals at this year’s 2008 BMO National Championships U-16 Boys All Stars in Brossard, QC this past July. Of note, Meftouh is currently training with the Canadian men’s U-17 team in Guadalajara, Mexico.



From the hopeful category ($1,000 per player), Maxime Crépeau, Shadrack Mmunga, Samuel Piette and Grégory Turfan are all gold medalists from this year’s BMO National Championships U-14 Boys All Stars in Brossard.



Girls Kim Boutin, Arianne Leclerc, Josée-Anne Nantel-Legault and Virginie Rousseau, meanwhile, are all silver medalists from this year’s BMO National Championships U-14 Girls All Stars in Sherwood Park. Sabrina Hemond, now 15, was a bronze medalist (along with Nantel-Legault) at the 2007 BMO National Championships U-14 Girls All Stars.