How Canadian Football Survived During the Pandemic Year

Since the cancellation of the season in August 2020 and the lack of financial support from the government, the Canadian Football League (CFL) has been experiencing rather difficult times. The attempts to save the 2020 season by senior officials of the league didn’t get any serious results. Even though the league has lost a large part of annual income, the positive vision of the future has remained.

The Future of CFL

Unlike the online casinos such as gamblejoy.net that gained more popularity in recent times, the future of CFL, as well as other sports leagues in Canada, remain uncertain, despite the statements of the League commissioner Randy Ambrosie, who emphasized their commitment to the future seasons. Unlike the American NFL, the Canadian league receives the biggest part of its income from ticket sales. It means that hundreds of people involved in this sport, including coaches, players, assistants, and football staff were left without the income.

In particular, a linebacker for the Toronto Argonauts Nelkas Kwemo shared his view in an interview with the local newspaper. He expressed his fears due to the governmental cancellation of the season, as most players whose contracts are dependent on the games being played have to accept the aid provided through the Canadian Emergency Wage

Subsidy or find other jobs. Otherwise, they simply cannot provide a living for their families.

What Does the Canadian Government Do?

At the end of the year, the Canadian government managed to allocate some money to support sports communities. In particular, it provided $72 million assistance for the whole sport sector via its 3 financial support programs:

  1. Sport Support Program;
  2. Athlete Assistance Program;
  3. Provincial and Territorial Sport Organizations Support Program.

However, it was only a drop in the ocean for the CFL, which asked the Canadian federal government for $30 million to support sportsmen due to the cancellation of the season, and another $120 million over the next two years if the most negative scenarios come true. How much will they receive from those $72 million is unknown.

Anyway, this money will not solve the major problems associated with the pandemic crisis. The results of the 2020 National survey on the negative effect of the pandemic clearly showed the following:

  • 38% of sports organizations won’t last more than 6 months without ­financial support;
  • Without Return to Play or more support, 21% of organizations may close or need to drastically change;
  • More than a third of organizations are ineligible for government emergency support measures.

While such players like Kwemo have taken the advantage of the temporary pause by working in other fields, some of the personnel cannot simply find an alternative to their activities.

Anyway, some of the players are optimistic about the future of the CFL, which according to their beliefs will survive and even become stronger. Still, many challenges have to be resolved in the future.

 

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