1st CFL game since 2019 a Blue Bombers-Tiger-Cats Grey Cup rematch

The Canadian Football League unveiled its 14-game regular season Tuesday, a day after the board of governors voted to resume play Aug. 5. The league didn't play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redblacks, Roughriders, Ticats to host traditional Labour Day matchups in September

The Canadian Press · Posted: Jun 15, 2021 12:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 15, 2021

The Blue Bombers and Tiger-Cats will open the 2021 CFL season on Aug. 5 in Winnipeg, which won the 2019 Grey Cup over Hamilton. It was the most recent game played on Nov. 24, 2019 before the league cancelled the 2020 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Todd Korol/The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Football League has scheduled a Grey Cup rematch for its return.

The CFL unveiled its 14-game regular season Tuesday, a day after the board of governors voted to resume play Aug. 5. The league didn't play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 CFL schedule

The CFL's first game on opening night will feature the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The last league game played was between the two teams, with the Bombers downing the Ticats 33-12 in the '19 Grey Cup contest.

There will be no exhibition games this year.

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After being forced to cancel its last season, the CFL is returning this summer, but the league will be challenged by bringing in fans safely and attracting a younger audience.

The newly renamed Edmonton Elks will play their first game Aug. 7 hosting the Ottawa Redblacks. All four East Division teams will play the first two weeks of the season in Western Canada as some West Division clubs are expected to be able to host fans sooner and in greater numbers as the season gets underway.

The '21 schedule will also feature the traditional Labour Day matchups. The Redblacks will host the Montreal Alouettes on Sept. 3 while Winnipeg will visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sept. 5.

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Then on Sept. 6, Toronto will visit Hamilton while the Calgary Stampeders will host Edmonton. The six teams will meet again in rematches the following week. The Ticats will visit the Argos on Sept. 10 before the Riders visit Winnipeg and Calgary visits Edmonton the following day.

The Labour Day game versus Toronto will be Hamilton's first this season at Tim Hortons Field. The Argos will be the first East Division team to play at home when they host Winnipeg on Aug. 21.

Montreal's first home contest will be Aug. 27 versus Hamilton while Ottawa returns to TD Stadium on Aug. 28 against the B.C. Lions.

Six of the final eight games on the schedule will be between division rivals. The Grey Cup game will cap the season Dec. 12 in Hamilton.

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