Canada’s football league cancels its season

The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced Monday it has canceled its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s the first time the league will not crown a champion since 1919.

“Our league governors decided today it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future,” CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement. “We are absolutely committed to 2021, to the future of our league and the pursuit of our vision of a bigger, stronger, more global CFL.”

The league had considered playing an abbreviated season in the hub city of Winnipeg, but it could not secure financing from the Canadian government to compensate for losses from gate revenue.

“Even with additional support, our owners and community-held teams would have had to endure significant financial losses to play in 2020,” Ambrosie said. “Without it, the losses would be so large that they would really hamper our ability to bounce back strongly next year and beyond. The most important thing is the future of our league.

“This outcome after months of discussions with government officials is disappointing,” Ambroise added. “But we’re focused now on the long-term future and we will continue to work with the federal and provincial governments in that context.”

Several U.S.-based professional sports leagues returned this summer, including NASCAR in May, the PGA Tour in June, Major League Baseball in late July, and the NBA and NHL shortly thereafter. The NFL is set to begin its regular season on Sept. 10.

The CFL largely depends on gate receipts since it does not have billions in revenue coming in from television rights contracts. The NFL, in comparison, has several multibillion-dollar TV deals with major networks, including CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN.