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Less than a week after announcing it was terminating its cheerleading squad because of financial considerations, the Montreal Alouettes on Monday announced they have backed off their decision.

“The fans spoke to us, our subscribers made themselves heard,” the team said in a statement. “They asked us, in a constructive and respectful way, to reconsider our decision. Above all they showed their deep attachment to our cheerleading team and to the Alouettes. We’ve listened to and read their many messages.”

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The climb down is a far cry from the portrait painted last week by the team. On Wednesday, the franchise cited financial pressures to justify the squad’s elimination, with Alouettes communications president Charles Rooke noting that, “in the current context of financial turnaround, difficult decisions must be made.”

Monday’s statement included a call for cheerleading squad representatives to meet with team management “and move forward in a satisfactory fashion, as much for the fans as for the Alouettes.”

Squad coach Annie Larouche, who had been cheerleading for the team for 25 years and took to social media last week to say the news had broken her heart, on Monday simply posted “Thank you” on her Facebook page in reaction to the Alouette’s announcement.