CFL moving hashmarks closer to center of field
TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian Football League is moving its hashmarks closer to the center of the field and will allow teams to take the ball at the 40-yard line instead of the 35 following a field goal or single under a series of rules changes recently approved by the board of governors.
“It’s about improving game flow,” CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said Wednesday. “It’s about limiting the number of two-and-outs."
The hashmarks will be 9 yards yards apart instead of the previous 17.
“What this does now is make the entire field part of an offense’s canvas," Ambrosie said. “When one of the features of your game is a large field, then you learn through conversations with football guys that you’re not really using that field the way it was designed to be used.”
Kicks following a safety will be from the 20 instead of the 25.
CFL training camps are scheduled to open May 15. Teams will play two exhibition games — for the first time since 2019 — and a full 18-game regular campaign opens June 9 with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Calgary Stampeders.
