Featured News

No fans rule forces cancellation of CFL season

The Canadian Football League (CFL), which depends heavily on ticketing revenue, has opted to forgo its shortened 2020 season as COVID-19 has denied fans entry to games.

The CFL depends heavily on its live gate and would have required some meaningful federal government support, sign-off from public health authorities, and a new collective bargaining agreement with the Canadian Football League Players’ Association if it was to go ahead with its shortened season in a protected “bubble.”

Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said: “Our league governors decided today it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future. 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.”

Season ticket holders can expect to hear soon from their clubs with news on how they can apply their deposits to next season.

UK football

Non-league football clubs in England will be able to welcome fans again after the government updated its guidance on recreational team sport events.

The news means that leagues below the seventh-tier National League North and South will see crowds return to the stands for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed everything down in March.

The move follows the government’s decision to make a clear distinction between the return of fans to recreational sport and elite sport, where pilots are required before fans can return from October 1.

Spectators will be required to remain socially distanced, and groups must be restricted to “discrete six-person gathering limits”.

The announcement comes after more than 30 MPs wrote to sports minister Nigel Huddleston calling for the “urgent return of fans to non-league clubs”.

An FA spokesperson said: “We continue to follow government advice with regards to the return of spectators and are working continuously with the Sports Ground Safety Authority, DCMS and Leagues to seek approval for a safe return as soon as feasibly possible.”

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