TORONTO — With stockings needing to be stuffed and holiday gifting just around the corner, the Canadian Football League and Red Tag have unveiled the 2024 schedule with season tickets for the upcoming campaign now available.
“This past year established new highs for our great game and set new benchmarks for what fun, fast and entertaining could be,” said CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “We couldn’t be more excited to carry forward that momentum and energy into 2024 with brand new events, bigger thrills and more can’t miss, unforgettable moments.”
The upcoming season will culminate in the crowning of the 111th Grey Cup champions from BC Place on Sunday, November 17, but a number of milestones dot the path to Canadian football’s ultimate prize. Four warm summer nights at the stadium every week, the first-ever installment of Touchdown Pacific, classic holiday clashes, new chapters in storied Labour Day rivalries and more await CFL fans throughout 2024.
Next season builds upon several innovations and ideas introduced over the past few seasons with a number of notable additions that many fans have requested.
Return to a ‘balanced schedule’: Fans will have the opportunity to see all the league’s brightest stars at home next season with the nine clubs slated to visit each CFL market at least once.
Consistency is key: Whether they are coming to the game or tuning in at home, fans can comfortably plan around the CFL’s Thursday to Sunday summer schedule, and the Friday and Saturday time slots in the fall.
Playoff Saturdays are back: By voicing popular demand, increasing viewership and breaking attendance records, fans resoundingly signalled their support for the Grey Cup Playoffs on Saturdays last season. The league has responded in kind with the Division Semi-Finals set for November 2 and the Division Finals playing out on November 9.
The 2024 campaign will be broadcast exclusively across the nation by Bell Media on TSN and RDS – Canada’s home of the CFL. In the U.S., select games will air on CBS Sports Network with the remaining contests available on the league’s free online live streaming platform, CFL+. All international viewers outside of North America will also be able to tune in on CFL+.
Season tickets for all nine CFL clubs are on sale now. The complete 2024 CFL schedule is available here.
SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
ALL ROADS LEAD TO VANCOUVER
The East and West Division champions will meet in the 111th Grey Cup at BC Place on Sunday, November 17 with kickoff slated for 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET. The competing teams’ paths will be paved on Playoff Saturdays with the Division Semi-Finals on November 2 and the Division Finals on November 9.
AND SO IT BEGINS
Following a full slate of nine pre-season games, the upcoming campaign kicks off with the same combatants that concluded 2023 – the defending champion Montreal Alouettes will travel west to take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a Grey Cup rematch at IG Field on Thursday, June 6.
Friday Night Football’s 27th season will begin with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visiting the Calgary Stampeders, before the season’s first Saturday night features the Saskatchewan Roughriders going head-to-head against the Edmonton Elks. Opening weekend will wrap up on Sunday, June 9, with the Toronto Argonauts welcoming the BC Lions to BMO Field.
CELEBRATION IS IN THE AIR
The Alouettes will raise their 110th Grey Cup championship banner on Thursday, June 20, before opening their home schedule against their neighbouring rivals from the nation’s capital, the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
RIVALRIES RENEWED
OK Tire Labour Day Weekend gets underway in Victoria with the first-ever Touchdown Pacific as the Lions welcome the REDBLACKS to Royal Athletic Park on Saturday, August 31. On Sunday, the Roughriders face the Blue Bombers, before the holiday Monday tradition of the Labour Day Classics continues with the Tiger-Cats taking on the Argonauts in Hamilton before the Stampeders host the Elks.
TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS
CFL Thanksgiving Weekend presented by Purolator begins on Friday with Toronto making its way to Winnipeg. A Saturday twin bill will feature Edmonton taking on its provincial rivals in Calgary and BC traveling to Saskatchewan. The holiday weekend wraps up on Thanksgiving Monday with a marquee matinee matchup between Montreal and Ottawa.
ENSHRINED IN GLORY
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum in Hamilton will open its doors to its newest members during Week 15. The Hall of Fame Game on Saturday, September 14 will feature the hometown Tiger-Cats and the REDBLACKS with a special halftime tribute planned for the Class of 2024.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
