MONTREAL — Former CF Montreal assistant coach Wilfried Nancy has been promoted to head coach.

The MLS team made the announcement Monday.

The 43-year-old Nancy has been an assistant coach with the first team since 2016.

Nancy takes over for Thierry Henry, who resigned last month, citing family reasons.

“I am very happy and proud to take on this new challenge,” Nancy said in a statement. “It’s even more special, since it’s with the club I’ve known since I came to Montreal."

A native of France, Nancy joined CF Montreal to help coach its academy program when it debuted in 2011.

Assistant coaches Kwame Ampadu and Laurent Ciman, goalkeeper coach Remy Vercoutre and fitness coach Jules Gueguen will complete Nancy’s staff.

“After Thierry left, we decided to trust him and give him the opportunity to continue the work we started last season, with the same vision," said Montreal sporting director Olivier Renard.

"It is also part of the club’s philosophy to consider and promote our own, as we did in the past for Jules Gueguen and Maxime Chalier (video analyst).”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021.