CFL’S REBOOT GOING GLOBAL
League’s ‘2.0’ agenda looks beyond Canada’s borders
From the moment he became CFL commissioner in July 2017, Randy Ambrosie has showed a propensity for thinking big.
His original vision was tiny compared to where he wants to take the league now.
In a recent one-on-one interview with Postmedia, Ambrosie unveiled plans for what he calls CFL 2.0, a newly imagined global version of the Canadian game.
The plans, which will be discussed at CFL board of governors meetings Sept. 14, include creating partnerships with football leagues in 30 countries around the world, including Japan, England, France, Germany and Mexico.
“There’s a lot of football being played around the world,” Ambrosie said. “Look at Japan, they have 400 high schools that play football and 200 universities that play football.
“England, France, Germany, Mexico … I think to myself, ‘What does this all look like if we knit this together and we assume a leadership role for gridiron football around the world?’”
The idea is to create an opportunity for developing Canadian players, who have finished college or junior programs, but have not been able to crack CFL rosters, to go to other countries and hone their skills. As well, the CFL would look at recruiting players from non-traditional football countries to play in Canada.
Down the road, there could be plans to play CFL games in international locations and send CFL coaches overseas to work during the off-season.
“Let’s make this league global,” he said. “Let’s not be a small CFL, let’s be a big CFL.
“Part of it is attitude. It’s just deciding that you’re no longer that same league.”
Now surely some observers will question this kind of big thinking when the league has enough problems selling itself to Canadians in some of the country’s biggest markets.
Attendance is poor in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, though there are committed owners and decent television numbers, and the league is continually challenged with improving player health and safety and officiating.
There’s also the question of growth within Canada: Will Halifax be finally coming into the fold sometime in the near future?
Ambrosie doesn’t see those questions as roadblocks to growing the game internationally.
“I think we would probably all agree that as big as hockey was in North America and in Canada, I think in 1972, when the Canadians played the Russians, it made hockey bigger,” Ambrosie said.
“If you look at all the pro sports leagues around the world, the global aspect of the game is creating fan intrigue. I think those are real opportunities for us as we set our path toward what we are calling CFL 2.0.”
The real winners in all this could be aspiring Canadian players. Currently, once players have exhausted their junior and college eligibilities, they are generally in make-or-break situations when they get to the CFL.
“That’s it … it’s over,” Ambrosie said. “I was talking to (Universite de Montreal coach) Danny Maciocia. He said last year he had six or seven players who didn’t have any eligibility left and absolutely want to play in the CFL, but had nowhere to go.
“Danny was one of the first to offer that it would be a tremendous opportunity to establish a network or professional leagues around the world where we could send players. We’ve got potential player-development opportunities for our players who could use another year or two. Have them go play somewhere else in the world, get a little bit of experience and then come back to our game. I think it’s right in front of us. It is a philosophy, but that philosophy has to be met with action.”
The commissioner foresees added opportunities for coaches.
“Maybe some of our coaches could do some guest coaching and share some of the amazing coaching talent that we have,” he said.
“That could make coaching in the CFL more attractive. If there was an opportunity to spend your in-season life in Canada and maybe an off-season or two in Mexico, helping them … I think there are almost infinite possibilities here to take our league to the next level.”
While there will certainly be detractors, his attitude and his willingness to see the big picture could be a big benefit to the CFL.
“The value of Apple’s market cap right now is through a trillion dollars, which is bigger than many, many, many economies in the world,” Ambrosie said.
“They had a 1.0 iPhone, but they didn’t stop there and they didn’t stop at 2.0 and they didn’t stop at 3.0.
“We have to always be asking the question: ‘What’s the next version of the CFL?’”
There’s a lot of football being played around the world. Look at Japan, they have 400 high schools that play football.