A lottery will be held Thursday, April 4 to determine the first overall pick, followed by one round of picks on April 11 at 1 p.m.EDT. Only the European prospects who attended the CFL combine in March are eligible to be selected.
A total of 18 players from Germany, France, Finland, Denmark and Italy competed with the best Canadian prospects for spots on the rosters of one of the nine CFL teams at the 2019 CFL Combine in Toronto last month. This was the first time ever that Non-North American players have been invited to participate in the CFL Combine, usually restricted to Canadian college and junior football players.
The European players and federations paid for their flights, but the league covered the hotel rooms and food.
In a historic move, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie had reached out to a number of European federations in an initiative dubbed CFL 2.0, inking agreements of cooperation with seven of them. The participation in the Combine was the first step. The next involves the lottery and draft and after that, the logistics. Ambrosie has apparently stated he would like two roster spots designated for “global players”, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
The CFL held a similar event in conjunction with Mexico’s Liga de Football Americano Profesional including a combine and a three round draft.
CFL teams will have three separate 2019 draft classes: Mexicans, Europeans and Canadians.
