Canada's premier football league will return to the gridiron this coming season.
The Canadian Football League's (CFL) Board of Governors voted unanimously on Monday to amend its collective bargaining agreement and allow a 14-game league schedule for the 2021 season.
The season is tentatively set to begin on August 5. That date had been set as the target for the return of CFL football for the first time since the 2019 Grey Cup game. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season.
CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the season would not have proceeded if the league did not have the proper endorsements from government and public health officials.
"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," said Ambrosie in a media release. "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 announcement from the CFL came the same day as the province of Ontario's announcement that professional and semi-professional leagues may return to playing. The CFL has three franchises in Ontario, the Toronto Argonauts, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the Ottawa Redblacks.
The league is scheduled to release the 2021 schedule Tuesday. Each team will be responsible for a plan to distribute tickets to season-ticket holders in accordance with provincial COVID-19 guidelines.
Ambrosie said the CFL is grateful to those essential workers who kept the nation running during the pandemic, and he is confident that full stadiums will eventually be allowed if infection rates stay down.
"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," said Ambrosie. "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."
