The Canadian Football League has cancelled its 2020 season because of COVID-19.
The decision–announced Monday–means that for the first time since 1919 there will be no Grey Cup, a game and festival that has always punched well above its weight for many Canadians.
“Our league governors decided today it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future,” commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement.
“We are absolutely committed to 2021, to the future of our league and the pursuit of our vision of a bigger, stronger, more global CFL.”
Ambrosie’s statement came after reports began swirling Sunday that the league had failed to secure a loan from the federal government.
Again.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie has been trying since April to land a federal government loan–to no avail. (Andrew Vaughan/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Two weeks ago, on Aug. 3, the CFL sent Ottawa a $30-million interest-free loan request.
That was a reduction from the $44-million it asked for in July–and well down from the $150 million the league asked for in April when COVID-19 sent the league–like everybody else in Canada–into a financial tailspin.
Sources familiar with the situation told The Canadian Press on Sunday night the latest plan fell through when the assistance couldn’t be provided to the league under the terms it sought.
The league had maintained it required government funding to stage a shortened season, despite having a far more stable ownership situation than in previous years.
The CFL said the federal government suggested the league pursue a commercial loan, which would be partially backed by Ottawa.
The $30-million loan request was seen by most observers as the league’s last-ditch effort to secure government support for an abbreviated 2020 season, which was to be played in Winnipeg as a hub city.
Players would need to fulfil quarantine requirements and make their way to Winnipeg for training camps before a six-game season along with playoffs could begin,
(The idea of a hub city–something the National Hockey League is using in Toronto and Edmonton and the National Basketball Association is using in Orlando, Florida–is to limit players’ exposure to the virus by staying in one location–all teams, all players.)
Until Friday, the CFL’s loan request was in the hands of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
On Friday, Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, reiterated he was encouraged about the CFL’s health-and-safety protocols.
The CFL regular season was originally supposed to start June 11.
However, many provincial governments said there would be no sports with large crowds over the summer because of COVID-19
With files from The Canadian Press, CBC News
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