CFL announces first 24 Global invitees to CFL Combine
The Canadian Football League (CFL) and its international partners have announced the first 24 global players who will take part in the CFL Combine in Toronto from March 25-28. Beginning in January, eight CFL Global Combines spanned Europe and Asia to identify football talent playing outside North America.
“We are very impressed with this initial group of athletes and their passion for the game,” said CFL Chief Financial Officer and Head of Football Operations, Greg Dick. “Having players from outside Canada and the U.S. competing in our league is at the core of the CFL 2.0 strategy. We look forward to meeting more exceptional athletes at the last few stops on the Global Combine tour as we continue growing this game worldwide.”
The CFL had previously named 11 early invitees from its Global Combines in Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and two in Japan. The first wave of global players invited to the CFL Combine includes 13 additional athletes identified at the eight initial events. Complete information and combine results for the 24 invitees can be found here.
Following the three remaining CFL Global Combines in Denmark, Brazil, and Mexico, the full list of global players invited to Toronto will be announced. The 2020 CFL Global Draft will take place on April 16.
FIRST WAVE OF GLOBAL PLAYERS INVITED TO THE CFL COMBINE
| Name | Position | Country | League |
| Aguemon, Jason | RB | France | LEFA (France) |
| Anderson, Tony * | DB | France | NAIA |
| Billy, Bryan | DB | France | LEFA (France) |
| Breidenbach, Sven * | OL | Germany | GFL (Germany) |
| Dalle Piagge, Lorenzo * | DL | Italy | IFL (Italy) |
| Engstrom, Malcolm | DL | Sweden | Superserien (Sweden) |
| Illetschko, Dustin 1 | LB | Austria | GFL (Germany) |
| Izinyon, David * | LB | Great Britain | GFL2 (Germany) |
| James, William * | DB | Sweden | GFL (Germany) |
| Kensy, Marius | LB | Germany | GFL (Germany) |
| Kyei, Micky * | WR | Finland | GFL (Germany) |
| Lee, Taku * | RB | Japan | X-League (Japan) |
| Liesen, Niklas * | LB | Germany | GFL (Germany) |
| Machino, Tomoya * | OL | Japan | KCAFL (Japan) |
| Madin Cerezo, Jean-Claude 1 | WR | Spain | GFL2 (Germany) |
| Mahoungou, Anthony * | WR | France | GFL (Germany) |
| Mbeleg-Toonga, Glen | RB | Great Britain | GFL (Germany) |
| Milanovic, Aleksandar 2 | OL | Austria | AFL (Austria) |
| Ohmi, Yoshihito | WR | Japan | X-League (Japan) |
| Posunko, Oleksandr 1 | DB | Ukraine | GFL2 (Germany) |
| Rodney, Justin | RB | Germany | GFL (Germany) |
| Sagne, Sebastien * | WR | Finland | GFL (Germany) |
| Takaya, Ryota | DL | Japan | X-League (Japan) |
| Yamagishi, Akio | LB | Japan | X-League (Japan) |
* Denotes an early global player invitee
1 Attended the CFL Global Combine in Frankfurt, Germany
2 Attended the CFL Global Combine in Florence, Italy
CFL GLOBAL COMBINE SCHEDULE
| Date | Location |
| February 29 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| March 7 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
| March 15 | Mexico City, Mexico |
During the 2019 season, CFL rosters featured, for the first time ever, one designated ‘global player’ from outside the U.S. and Canada on each team’s active roster and as many as two more on their practice rosters. In 2020, the number of global players per team will increase to two on the active roster and up-to-three on the practice roster, with as many as 45 global players competing in the league.
The CFL regular season kicks off on Thursday, June 11 with the Edmonton Eskimos hosting the BC Lions at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium. Friday Night Football debuts with a double-header on June 12 with the Toronto Argonauts visiting the Ottawa REDBLACKS before the Montreal Alouettes take on the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. The season’s opening week concludes with a Saturday night prime-time rematch of the 107th Grey Cup as the defending champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers travel to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats.
