Japan’s XLeague, along with the Japan American Football Association, has announced that, in cooperation with the Canadian Football League, it will be holding a CFL Japan Global Combine in Japan.
With the progress of the CFL Global initiative that included combines in multiple countries in 2020 before the pandemic put a stop to everything, the CFL is resuming actual physical combines. In 2021, all the athletes were asked to submit videos and test results and from that, candidates were selected for the CFL Global Draft.
The Japan Global Combine, JGC, is scheduled for March 6, 2022, and will be held in Fujitsu, Japan. The top players will be invited to Toronto in late March for the 2022 CFL Combine which will feature international prospects competing alongside their young Canadian counterparts from U SPORTS, the NCAA and junior football. The league’s biggest scouting event will be followed by two separate drafts in the spring – one for global players and one for Canadians.
Candidates will undergo a series of tests including the standard 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drills as well as vertical jump and bench press. Various positional drills will also be done.
Notable Japanese players selected from previous combines who have made CFL rosters include linebacker Les Mauro (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and running back Taku Lee (Montreal Alouettes).