Montreal Impact to be known as Club de Foot

MONTREAL — The Montreal Impact are rebranding, changing the Major League Soccer club's moniker to Club De Foot Montreal — or CF Montreal.

The club announced the move Thursday. Team owner Joey Saputo said that to make an impact, the name Impact needs to be retired, replaced by a new name that will tell a story about the city of Montreal.

More than 2,000 soccer fans have already registered their displeasure with the rebrand, signing an online petition calling for the Impact to keep its name.

The petition says the change will cause a “rift” between the team and its fanbase.