On Monday morning, the CFL’s Board of Governors held a meeting in which they came to the unanimous decision to approve the leagues’ proposed start date of August 5th and a 14 game regular season. Additionally, they would approve new amendments proposed by the CFLPA to be added to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Commissioner Randy Ambrosie was quoted stating,
“This is an exciting day for Canadian football and for Canada itself, I want to thank our fans, players, coaches, and partners for their incredible support and patience as we’ve worked together towards this day. This is great news for everyone who loves our game and our Country”
Aside from altering the season schedule, the new CBA amendments will change the maximum number of players allowed on an active roster from 46 to 44, with only 1 global player per team, rather than the 2 as the original CBA signed in 2019 called for. TSN’s Dave Naylor has also mentioned the possibility of the league expanding its playoffs from 6 to 8 teams, but Ambrosie says he is pretty confident the league will remain in the usual 6 team format for 2021.
Ambrosie would also mention,
“We are on track to receive all of the necessary health and safety approvals, thanks to our tireless medical advisors and staff, and the dedicated government officials who have been working with them, and while the outlook for fans in the stands varies from province to province, we are confident that process is also on the right track.”
The full CFL season schedule will be released tomorrow and should include stadium capacity limits, plans for distributing season tickets, and where government restrictions on stadium capacity will allow it, ticket sales to the general public.
Ambrosie would add,
“Words cannot express how grateful we all are to the health care and front line workers who have done so much to keep Canada going. We at the CFL want to thank everyone who has chosen to get vaccinated. We encourage everyone to get a first shot, or a second, when it is their turn, the public health officials in every province keep telling us that as long as the vaccination rate keeps climbing, and the number of cases of COVID-19 is contained or goes down, the more life will get back to normal, including full capacities in our stadiums.”
David Tress
June 14, 2021 at 2:10 pm
Now folks can focus on the football and put the pandemic behind them. The XFL should examine how many of its players wound up in the CFL and make amendments to the way it formulates contract offers. There is also no reason for the CFL to change its rules.