Kicking off over 100 years of soccer history
Long before BMO became known as the Bank of Soccer, employees were already playing the game together. BMO’s earliest known soccer team, formed by employees from the London, England branch in 1920, marked the beginning of a long-standing connection to the sport. Throughout the 20th century, employees across Canada also formed teams, competed against other organizations, and took part in soccer during field days and internal events. In 1971, the Bank of Montreal Soccer Club, consisting of more than 40 bank employees from the Montreal Metropolitan Area, competed in the commercial division of the Montreal Soccer League. They tied for first place in the final league standings and went on to win the Morrell Cup playoffs. The Morrell Cup is now preserved in the Corporate Archives.
That early employee connection has grown into a broader platform that supports the sport at every level. Today, BMO’s support for soccer reaches well beyond employee play, from investments in grassroots programs through to professional soccer. Through every chapter, the heart of the story has stayed the same: people coming together through the game. More than a century later, soccer continues to bring colleagues together and strengthen BMO’s connection to communities across North America.