GOAL MTL 2025 isn’t just a soccer tournament — it’s a day for local pro soccer players, businesses, and artists to come together and raise funds to help Montreal’s youth access sports.
“We’re here to share the love of the soccer community and playing against other businesses all around Montreal that share that same love,” said Emilio Zaga Mendez, with Team Evenko.
“It’s breaking barriers, it’s talking to people, even though we play against other teams that we have never had the chance to talk to. It creates connections.”
Twenty-four soccer teams — all from local businesses, restaurants, and community groups — will face each other off on the field at the Percival Molson Stadium. But the real win is whoever can get the most to donate to the fundraiser.
“There are needs that need to be met. Football fields that need to be repurposed in public schools – French or English,” said Paul Desbaillets, the founder of Goal Initiatives. “Public spaces, workshops in different high schools, as well as bursaries for different soccer associations,”.
Over the past year, Goal Initiatives and the Patrice Bernier Foundation have partnered together to build two soccer fields in Montreal, with another one coming up in 2026. This weekend, the event raised over $10,000.
The proceeds support youth sports initiatives like Club de Soccer Saint-Laurent, a club in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough committed to help the next generation of young soccer players reach the professional league.
“We’re here to help those people that struggle either financially, or to get any sort of recognition for them to be able to go and get that recognition to play pro and to follow their dreams,” said Christos Maragos, one of the coordinators of Club Soccer de Saint-Laurent.
