In a press conference at the BMO Training Ground this morning, Toronto FC president Bill Manning announced that the club has hired Ali Curtis as the fifth general manager in franchise history. Curtis replaces Tim Bezbatchenko, who left TFC abruptly this week to take over the president’s job at Columbus Crew SC.
Curtis, 40, was previously the sporting director of the New York Red Bulls, from 2014 to early 2017. There, he helped the club to the 2015 Supporters’ Shield. While with RBNY, Curtis developed a reputation for improving the Red Bulls’ youth system and making them a consistently competitive side while maintaining a relatively modest payroll.