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CFL decides to postpone its 2020 global draft due to COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 24, 2020 | 9:54 AM

TORONTO — The CFL postponed its 2020 global draft due to the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday.

The draft was scheduled to be held April 16. It will now coincide with the opening of training camps.

Teams remain scheduled to open rookie camps May 13 with training camps getting underway May 17.

However, last week CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the league was looking into all contingency plans regarding all facets of the 2020 campaign amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

In a statement Tuesday, the CFL said all the top global prospects will be invited to Toronto for a combine before league officials. When the global draft is held, the Ottawa Redblacks own the first overall selection.

“The rescheduled global combine and draft in Toronto will provide global players with equal footing to showcase their talents in person, while offering teams a joint platform for fair evaluation,” Ambrosie said in the league’s press release. “We can’t wait to welcome them to Canada and we look forward to having them join our CFL family.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2020.

The Canadian Press