Mexico plan, labour talks in motion Ambrosie upbeat as league prepares to tackle multiple challenges

EDMONTON— The CFL and Mexico’s Liga de Futbol Americano Professional are officially partners. CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie and LFA officials Oscar Perez and Alejandro Jaimes signed a letter of intent Friday to work together on several projects. That includes playing a CFL game in Mexico City.

Sunday’s Grey Cup game between the Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Redblacks in Edmonton will be broadcast in Mexico in Spanish for the first time ever.

“We’re really going to use this to kick off what we hope is a long-term, fantastic relationship that helps us grow the game of football,” Ambrosie said after his annual state-ofthe-league address. “I think it’s the beginning of a new beginning for us.”

There had been talk of a CFL regular-season game being played in Mexico City as early as next year, but a league official said 2020 is more likely because of logistics. The LFA is an eight-team Mexican semi-pro spring circuit. The letter of intent is not a binding contract between the leagues, but it does pave the way for a CFL scouting combine in Mexico this winter, increased co-operation and shared resources.

On other issues of note:

The CFL’s collective agreement is set to expire in May. Ambrosie called upcoming contract talks with the players “the great unknown,” but remains confident that a work stoppage can be avoided: “I’m optimistic.”

Earlier this month, the NHL and a group of retired players reached a tentative $19-million settlement in a lawsuit regarding head injuries. In 2017, the NFL and former players agreed to a $1-billion settlement. The CFL is facing a $200-million class action suit of its own: “In the case of the NFL and NHL, that process took time to reach the outcome that they’ve achieved. We’d like similarly to reach a successful conclusion with the plaintiffs on this matter. This has got to be an item that gets talked about as soon as we hit the ground Monday morning.”

Ambrosie said the decisions last year to eliminate padded practices and extend the regular season to 21 weeks have had the desired effect — inpractice injuries and game days lost to injury have declined by 35 and 10 per cent, respectively.

The CFL joined the Call It Out campaign, which encourages people to speak up when they witness gender-based violence. Signage, videos and a social media push will be visible during Sunday’s Grey Cup at Commonwealth Stadium.

A “move is afoot” to hold big game a week earlier by 2020. “In our requests for 2020 Grey Cup bids, we’ve asked the teams to bid one week earlier,” Ambrosie said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

Discussions continue on ways to improve the development of Canadian quarterbacks, the roster ratio and possibly adopting a one-division format. Ambrosie says the Mexican deal could provide opportunities for Canadian-born QBs to hone their skills in that country, then head to the CFL.

Ambrosie remains bullish on the CFL’s ability handle of these all situations.

“I feel the future for football in Canada is bright,,” he said.