CFL holds combine in Mexico City in effort to grow football worldwide

MEXICO CITY What started as a simple conversation between two football executives has taken CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie to Estadio Azul, a 33,000-seat stadium in Mexico City.

Ambrosie and a host of general managers, coaches, and executives were in Mexico City on Sunday for the CFL’s first combine outside of Canada to watch Mexico’s 50 best football players showcase their talent. The trip started when Ambrosie was introduced to Liga de Futbol Americano chief executive Oscar Perez and the two realized they could help each other grow the sport of football by giving players from their respective countries new opportunities to play the game.

“Oscar and I talked about that and almost immediately agreed that that would be great for the CFL, great for Canada, great for Canadian kids, great for Mexico, the LFA, and Mexican kids,” said Ambrosie in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. “We both just said in a moment ‘Well, let’s do it.’ I took that idea to the governors and I’ve had nothing but fantastic support from our governors and our team presidents. It just seemed like a logical place to kick off our global ambitions.”

The idea is that the combine — which Ambrosie hopes will become an annual event — will be mutually beneficial to the CFL and the LFA.

Ambrosie hopes it will help CFL teams discover Mexican talent and recruit them to come to Canada and raise the level of competition in the league. At the same time, the relationship between the two leagues will give Canadian players fresh out of school another place to play if they don’t make a CFL team when they graduate.

“For so many, if they finish their junior career or college career and they’re not on a CFL roster then there’s kind of nowhere to go and their dream ends,” said Ambrosie. “I think that’s a tragedy. This is really about growing the game of football.”

Ambrosie’s ambitions extend far beyond Mexico. He’s hoping the CFL can hold another combine this spring somewhere in Europe, but those plans are still coming together.