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.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
