The Italian Federation of American Football , FIDAF, is the final European country to select players for the National CFL Combine in Toronto March 22-24 and is sending wide receiver Jordan Bouah and offensive lineman Alessandro Vergani to compete for a spot on a Canadian Football League roster.
The 24 year old Jordan Bouah (5’11”, 200 lb) from Rome, Italy, who has been clocked at 4.45 in the 40 yard dash, started playing football with the Roma Gladiators and was picked for the Italian national team in a friendly against France three years ago. He then spent the last two years at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. Alessandro Vergani, 29 years old and a native of Monza, Italy, (6’3″, 297 lb) is the starting right tackle for the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, defending German Football League champions. Vergani anchored an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the league in 2018 (eight) while finishing as the fifth best rushing team in Germany (120.3 yds/game). Vergani has been a pillar of Team Italy’s offensive line since 2012, as he was for the Daemons (2009), Parma Panthers (2014) and Milano Rhinos (2015 to 2017).
The two players will travel to Toronto to find out how they compare to the other players from Germany, France, Denmark and Finland as well as top players from Canadian university and junior football ranks.
With this, a total of 18 players from Italy, Germany, France, Finland and Denmark will attend the two-day Combine which will be historic. This is the first step in a program initiated following meetings between CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Italian federation officials. Ambrosie also met with the leaders of federations from Germany, France, Austria , and the Nordic countries, in a pioneering effort to raise awareness of the Canadian Football League and expand borders for football players.
The National CFL Combine presented by New Era is being held this year at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and Varsity Stadium bubble where players will undergo medical examinations, performance, strength and speed tests, on-field football drills and team interviews over the two day combine in front of general managers, coaches and scouts from all teams.
The various meetings between Ambrosie and European federation heads also included discussions on creating better pathways for more young Canadian players to continue playing in Europe once their university or junior football careers have ended and for aspiring European football players to gain an education and opportunities to play football in the Canadian university system.