What you need to know about the return of the Canadian Football League

The global pandemic stopped life in all sectors of society and the sporting world was hit particularly hard. Soccer and football leagues, tennis and golf tournaments and events such as the Olympics were cancelled or postponed, which left many fans worldwide frustrated. But forget 2020, roll on 2021 and there is plenty of reason to get excited about sport again! For fans of the Canadian Football League however, this joy is multiplied one hundred-fold by the fact the 2020 season was cancelled completely. Fans were left without football for a whole season but from 5^th August, the CFL is back.

Although the number of matches will be reduced from 18 to 14, fans will be flocking to stadiums across Canada with the ultimate hope of having full capacities if the vaccination protocol continues at the rate it is currently going. In terms of the race to win the Grey Cup, which has also been delayed until 12^th December, Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be hoping to pick up where they left off in the 2019 season, when they defeated Hamilton Tiger-Cats by 33-12 in the final. This was indeed a shock to the form books as the Tiger-Cats were the best team in both divisions during the regular season with a record of 15-3, while Winnipeg was only fourth best out of the nine teams with their record of 11-7. Therefore, it is no surprise to see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as current favourites to win the Grey Cup. Even at online casinos in Canada, there are competitive odds for sports betting. Spincasino provides you with the opportunity to bet on a variety of sports, including esports, with an in-play market that also allows you to bet on live action.

With all the teams spending a year without competitive action, it is difficult to assess who will hit the ground running when Hamilton Tiger-Cats come up against their 2019 nemesis Winnipeg in the season opener. But the 2019 runners up were given the first pick from the draft in May due to their record in the 2019 season and they will be hoping that Jake Burt can drive them on from his tight end position.

While there will be some regular faces in each roster, 2021 will present fans of the CFL with a better look at any overseas talent coming to Canada to ply their trade. After the successful introduction in 2019, the teams will once again be able to name two ‘active’ players as global players in their rosters. So, expect global draft number one pick Jake Ford from Australia to potentially ruffle some feathers. Out of the top five picks, five different countries from around the globe were represented. Steven Nielsen (Denmark), Tigie Sankoh (Great Britain), Les Maruo (Japan) and Christopher Ezeala (Germany) rounded off the top five picks.

So, with all that in mind, the CFL 2021 season is nicely set up and each of the nine teams and their new additions will be chomping at the bit to get started in August. Whether Winnipeg can spring another surprise remains to be seen but they and the other teams will certainly be competitive and up for it.