36 global players drafted from 18 different countries
Thursday, April 15, 2021 — TORONTO (April 15, 2021) -- The Canadian Football League (CFL) is proud to welcome 36 global players into the league today, following the four round Global Draft. The BC Lions selected Australian punter/kicker Jake Ford with the first overall pick.
“I’m really excited to get back to the west coast,” said Ford from his home in Arkansas.
“I visited Vancouver in 2016 and just fell in love with it. Talking with coach Campbell and coach Yanowsky and hearing what they have planned for me has me even more thrilled for the opportunity to wear Lions orange.”
The Global Draft saw players drafted from 18 different countries. Below is the breakdown of drafted play by country:
7 – Australia
6 - Japan
4 – Germany
3 – Great Britain
2 – Finland and France
1 – Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, China, Denmark, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa and Sweden
Below are the selections from each round.
| FIRST ROUND SELECTIONS | ||||
| No. | Team | Name | Position | Country |
| 1 | BC | Jake Ford | P/K | Australia |
| 2 | Edmonton | Steven Nielsen | OL | Denmark |
| 3 | Toronto | Tigie Sankoh | DB | Great Britain |
| 4 | Winnipeg | Les Maruo | LB | Japan |
| 5 | Saskatchewan | Christopher Ezeala | RB | Germany |
| 6 | Montreal | Joseph Zema | P | Australia |
| 7 | Calgary | Cody Grace | P | Australia |
| 8 | Hamilton | Joel Whitford | P | Australia |
| 9 | Ottawa | Anthony Mahoungou | REC | France |
| SECOND ROUND SELECTIONS | |||||
| No. | Team | Name | Position | Country | |
| 10 | Ottawa | Tyron Vrede | LB | Netherlands | |
| 11 | Hamilton | Chris Mulumba | DL | Finland | |
| 12 | Calgary | Franklin Agbasimere | DL | Nigeria | |
| 13 | Montreal | Akio Yamagishi | LB | Japan | |
| 14 | Saskatchewan | Kaare Vedvik | P | Norway | |
| 15 | Winnipeg | Tomoya Machino | OL | Japan | |
| 16 | Toronto | Toshiki Sato | K | Japan | |
| 17 | Edmonton | Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei | DL | New Zealand | |
| 18 | BC | Bo Qiao Li | DL | China |
| THIRD ROUND SELECTIONS | |||||
| No. | Team | Name | Position | Country | |
| 19 | BC | Takeru Yamasaki | K | Japan | |
| 20 | Edmonton | Tibo Debaillie | DL | Belgium | |
| 21 | Calgary via TOR | Aaron Donkor | LB | Germany | |
| 22 | Winnipeg | Ayo Oyelola | LB | Great Britain | |
| 23 | Saskatchewan | John Henry Nell | K | South Africa | |
| 24 | Montreal | Taku Lee | RB | Japan | |
| 25 | Calgary | Isaac Alarcon | OL | Mexico | |
| 26 | Hamilton | David Izinyon | LB | Great Britain | |
| 27 | Ottawa | Christopher Ferguson | OL | Bahamas |
| FOURTH ROUND SELECTIONS | |||||
| No. | Team | Name | Position | Country | |
| 28 | Ottawa | Tony Anderson | DB | France | |
| 29 | Hamilton | Dominik Eberle | K | Germany | |
| 30 | Toronto via CGY | Max Duffy | P | Australia | |
| 31 | Montreal | William James | DB | Sweden | |
| 32 | Saskatchewan | Sebastien Sagne | REC | Finland | |
| 33 | Winnipeg | Arryn Siposs | P | Australia | |
| 34 | Toronto | Sammis Reyes | REC | Chile | |
| 35 | Edmonton | Matt Leo | DE | Australia | |
| 36 | BC | Niklas Gustav | DL | Germany |