Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gridiron football
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to gridiron football across the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Across the world and to varying degrees, leagues and competitions have been cancelled or postponed.
Canadian football[edit]
CFL[edit]
On March 12, 2020, the Canadian Football League (CFL) announced the cancellation or modification of several pre-season events in response to the pandemic. Several scouting combines across Canada and the United States were cancelled, while other events such as rules committee meetings were held remotely. The CFL initially planned to hold both its International and National Drafts in April, but it was announced on March 24 that the Global Draft would be postponed indefinitely.[1][2]
The 2020 regular season had originally been scheduled to begin on June 11.[3] On April 7, Commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that the season would not begin until at least July. In a press statement, he announced that the CFL was exploring multiple options to ensure that the league will be able to play as close to a full season as possible.[4] On May 20, Ambrosie announced that the season would begin no earlier than September, and the 108th Grey Cup as a neutral site game in Regina, Saskatchewan had been cancelled—with the game site determined by home advantage instead, and Regina therefore being awarded the Grey Cup game played in 2022.[5][6]
The league explored the possible use of centralized "hub" cities,[7][8][9] and requested $30 million in financial assistance from the federal government, and up to $130 million in the event the 2020 season must be scrapped entirely.[10] On August 17, 2020, the CFL announced that the entire 2020 season, including the Grey Cup, would be cancelled as the league's request for funding was rejected by the federal government.[11]
The CFL committed to a shortened 2021 season, with no preseason, and using a 16-week, 14-game schedule (as opposed to 18 games over 21 weeks) beginning on August 5, 2021. The 108th Grey Cup was played on December 12, 2021 in Hamilton, Ontario—the latest that the game had been played since 1937.[12] Due to the expectation of looser capacity restrictions, the schedule was engineered to have all games hosted by teams in the West division for the first two weeks of the season.[13]
The Edmonton Elks had their August 26, 2021 game postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the team; it was postponed to November 16 between two regularly-scheduled games on the 13th and 19th, resulting in the team playing three games within the span of a week.[14][15] Due to Ontario public health orders, the 108th Grey Cup was played at full capacity with proof of vaccination required those who are eligible, but all other public festivities were cancelled. As compensation, Hamilton was therefore awarded the 110th Grey Cup in 2023.[16]
University football[edit]
U Sports announced on June 8, 2020, that all fall semester national championships had been cancelled. This resulted in the cancellation of the Vanier Cup for the first time since its inception in 1965.[17] Atlantic University Sport, Canada West, and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) all announced that fall semester competition would be cancelled for the season, including football.[17][18][19]