ManitobaFootball executives, players and fans in Manitoba are reacting to the announcement by the CFL of major changes the league hopes will make the game more entertaining for fans — including a shortened field and a modification of that Canadian quirk, the rouge.Shortened football field, smaller endzone, shifted goalposts coming over next 2 yearsDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Sep 23, 2025 9:22 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoUniversity of Manitoba Bisons players Halem Hrizai and Maxwell Fisher said they will both continue to support the CFL despite the league announcing some major changes to rules and a shortened football field (Jim Agapito/CBC)Football executives, players and fans in Manitoba are reacting to the announcement by the CFL of major changes the league hopes will make the game more entertaining for fans — including a shortened field and a modification of that Canadian quirk, the rouge.”I’m livid. It’s ridiculous,” said longtime Winnipeg Blue Bombers season ticket holder Collin Doyle. “It completely misses the point as usual. I would say that whoever is in charge in Toronto has no idea about how to grow the Canadian game.”Commissioner Stewart Johnston on Monday introduced the CFL’s new plan, which will be phased in over the next two seasons.It calls for the field to be reduced from 110 yards to 100 yards, end zones to be reduced from 20 yards to 15 yards, and goalposts to be moved from the front of the end zone to the back.”It’s just an Americanization of the game, and I don’t know that it makes it better. I think it makes it worse,” said Doyle. “I think those are key things that make our game what it is.”Some elements of the rouge — the single point awarded when the ball being kicked into the end zone and not returned — will be eliminated beginning next season.It will no longer be awarded when a punt or kickoff clears the end zone (either in the air or by rolling) without being touched by a returner.A field reduced to 100 yards from 110, top, and smaller end zones with goalposts at the back are some of the major changes coming to the CFL. (cfl.ca)And due to the goalposts being moved to the back of the end zone, it will no longer be possible for a rouge to be awarded for a missed field goal.Only if a punt, field goal or kickoff settles in the end zone, and the returner fails to take it out or takes a knee, will a single point be awarded.The play clock will also see changes. Teams currently have 20 seconds to initiate a play but that usually doesn’t begin until an official whistles the start of play after the first-down chains are set and player substitutions are made.In 2026, a new 35-second play clock will automatically begin as soon as the previous play is whistled dead.Blue Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller calls the changes part of the evolution of the Canadian game. (Darin Morash/CBC)Blue Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller told CBC Manitoba’s Up to Speed on Monday that the changes represent the evolution of the CFL game.”It’s going to focus on trying to make more aggressive play-calling by coaches, increased scoring, so this isn’t changing the game, it’s just evolving the game,” Miller said. “We’re trying to make it better and the changes today are reflective of … more consistent game flow, less down time, more action. We’re hoping that this adds to the entertainment value of this great league that we already have.” Bomber fan Pat Rathwell, who organizes yearly bus tours to Regina for the annual Labour Day Classic, said he’s not in favour of the shortened field but called some of the other changes long overdue.”Moving the goalpost back to the back of the end zone, I think that was a smart move,” Rathwell said. “And the changes they’ve made to the rouge just makes sense from a competitive standpoint, because true fans really don’t want to see a championship game being decided by a single point.”Halem Hrizai, who currently plays on the offensive line for the University of Manitoba Bisons football team, said he’s in favour of some of the changes but added he’s concerned about the Americanization of Canadian football.”I think the CFL is trying to adopt what the NFL is doing, and just for Canadians watching football we’re unique, we have our unique rules and I think especially the older generations are not going to be fan of it,” he said. There has been no word yet on whether Canadian universities will adjust their fields to fit the new CFL rules, but should that happen, it will be a big adjustment, said Hrizai.”It’s definitely going to be a change in the pace of the game, it’s going to be a change in plays for offence and defence.”Hrizai said he will continue to watch and support the CFL when the changes go through, while teammate Maxwell Fisher, who also plays on the offensive line for the Bisons, believes the CFL will lose some of its uniqueness.”I think it takes away from the CFL, the way it’s been played all these years, and how it makes it individual from the NFL,” he said. Maxwell also plans to continue watching and supporting the CFL through the changes. Blue Bomber fan Josh Vitt supports some of the changes and said he is not worried that longtime CFL fans will now abandon the game.”People might think they’re just trying to copy American football but at the same time fans who love the CFL will continue to love the CFL.”He added he will continue to support Winnipeg’s CFL team no matter what changes are made to the game”I’m a die-hard Blue Bomber fan through and through.”ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.With files from Jim Agapito
Canadian football fans, players, executives react to big CFL changes
