Quebec completes “national” team roster ahead of Marseille tournament

The Quebec “national” team now has a complete roster.

On Monday, Les Quebecois announced the full team that will be going to the Tournoi International des Peuples des Cultures et des Tribus. That tournament, which begins June 23 in Marseille, France, brings together teams from French-speaking regions that aren’t recognized as countries. It’s a precursor to next year’s VIVA World Cup, a tournament which allows regions that aren’t recognized by FIFA to compete against each other. So, for the sake of argument, a team from Quebec could play Punjab or Kurdistan or a French region like Provence in the VIVA World Cup.

Now, to the additions made by coach and former Montreal Impact player Patrick Leduc:

Four forwards — Jean-Louis Besse, Pascal Aoun, Gabriel Moreau and Durnick Jean were added to Leduc’s team list. Besse is a former member of the Canadian Soccer League’s Trois-Rivieres Attak, while Moreau and Aoun were both notable CIS players. Moreau was with the University of Laval while Aoun was with the University of Montreal.

In midfield, ex-Syracuse University Orange player Kevin Chan-Yu-Tin (who also played for Canada at the U17 level) will represent Quebec, as will Cedric Carrie and University of Montreal product Olivier Babineau.

Stephen Meterissian, formerly of Concordia University, was brought in to shore up the back line.

Vincent Cournoyer, who stopped two attempts in the penalty shootout and led his Beauport team to victory in the 2012 national senior men’s championship over an Edmonton Scottish team filled with former NASL players, will be one of the two Quebec team keepers. Dominic Provost is the other keeper on the roster.

The new recruits join a roster that already includes former FC Edmonton fullbacks Fabrice Lassonde and Alex Surprenant, ex-Impact players Kevin Cossette and Reda Agourram, former McGill standout Tommy Lucas and ex-Trois-Rivieres Attak striker Nicolas Lesage.