TORONTO — As 2019 kickoff approaches, the Canadian Football League will make history this weekend when nine Global players take the field with their respective clubs.
The CFL has added one spot to the active roster and up to two on the practice roster as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, which will accommodate players who were selected in one of two international player drafts during the off-season.
On Jan. 14, 2019 the league held its first international draft in Mexico, where each team selected three players from the Liga de Football Americano Profesional (LFA) following the CFL-LFA Combine.
Three months later, after players from across Europe were invited to participate in the 2019 CFL Combine presented by New Era, the league held an additional draft for European players on April 11.
Players from across the world attended training camps this month, as the CFL 2.0 vision continues to take shape.
The CBA stipulates that each team roster must be made up of the following:
46 players on active roster, including:
3 Quarterbacks
21 Nationals
1 Global
1 Reserve
20 Internationals
Teams must have a minimum of one global player on the active roster and a maximum of two on the practice roster. The two Global players will not count against the practice roster limit, meaning if a team kept two global players, the practice roster would have 12 players.
The list of Global players on CFL rosters heading into Week 1 is as follows:
Montreal
Active Roster – Diego Rojas Kuhlmann OL Mexico
PR – Enrique Yenny K Mexico
PR – Juan Tamayo DB Mexico
Ottawa
Active Roster – Jose Maltos K Mexico
PR – Guillermo Villalobos WR Mexico
Toronto
Active Roster – Kimi Linnainmaa WR Finland
PR – Christian Hernandez LB Mexico
PR – David Casarrubias DL Mexico
Hamilton
Active Roster – Gabriel Amavizca Ortiz K Mexico
PR – Valentin Gnahoua DL France
Winnipeg
Active Roster – Thiadric Hansen LB Germany
PR – Sergio Sciaffino Perez DB Mexico
PR – Manuel Hernandez LB Mexico
Saskatchewan
Active Roster – Max Zimmermann WR Germany
PR – Rene Brassea OL Mexico
PR – Javier Garcia DB Mexico
Calgary
Active Roster – Andres Salgado WR Mexico
PR – Guillermo Calderon OL Mexico
PR – Asnnel Robo RB France
Edmonton
Active Roster – Maxime Rouyer LB France
PR – Diego Viamontes WR Mexico
PR – Jose Alfonsin DB Mexico
BC
Active Roster – Gerardo Alvarez WR Mexico
PR – Fernando Richarte WR Mexico