the impact club was founded in 1992 by the saputo family, as the owners of the montreal supra of the canadian soccer league did not pursue an apsl franchise by the deadline set by the u.s. league. the montreal ownership and front office split with their main financial sponsor announcing the start of a new apsl club on december 13, 1992 with the supra coach. in 1993 the apsl was trying to gain the ussf division 1 sanctioning required by fifa with the award of the 1994 fifa world cup and the estimated $60 million in world cup profits; it was seen as a league with much more upside than the csl. they became a dominant club in the apsl (1993–1996) and the a-league (1997–2003), renamed the usl first division (2004). the team did not compete during the 1999 a-league season. their main rivals were the rochester rhinos and the toronto lynx prior to the latter's move to the usl premier development league.