AUSTRALIAN JAKE FORD SELECTED FIRST OVERALL IN THE 2021 CFL GLOBAL DRAFT

36 global players drafted from 18 different countries

TORONTO (April 15, 2021) -- The Canadian Football League (CFL) is proud to welcome 36 global players into the league today, following the four round Global Draft. The BC Lions selected Australian punter/kicker Jake Ford with the first overall pick.

“I’m really excited to get back to the west coast,” said Ford from his home in Arkansas.

“I visited Vancouver in 2016 and just fell in love with it. Talking with coach Campbell and coach Yanowsky and hearing what they have planned for me has me even more thrilled for the opportunity to wear Lions orange.”

The Global Draft saw players drafted from 18 different countries. Below is the breakdown of drafted play by country:

7 – Australia
6 - Japan
4 – Germany
3 – Great Britain
2 – Finland and France
1 – Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, China, Denmark, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa and Sweden

Below are the selections from each round.

FIRST ROUND SELECTIONS

No.

Team

Name

Position

Country

1

BC

Jake Ford

P/K

Australia

2

Edmonton

Steven Nielsen

OL

Denmark

3

Toronto

Tigie Sankoh

DB

Great Britain

4

Winnipeg

Les Maruo

LB

Japan

5

Saskatchewan

Christopher Ezeala

RB

Germany

6

Montreal

Joseph Zema

P

Australia

7

Calgary

Cody Grace    

P

Australia

8

Hamilton

Joel Whitford

P

Australia

9

Ottawa

Anthony Mahoungou

REC

France

 

SECOND ROUND SELECTIONS

No.

Team

Name

Position

Country

 

10

 Ottawa

Tyron Vrede

LB

Netherlands

 

11

Hamilton

Chris Mulumba

DL

Finland

 

12

Calgary

Franklin Agbasimere

DL

Nigeria

 

13

Montreal

Akio Yamagishi

LB

Japan

 

14

Saskatchewan

Kaare Vedvik

P

Norway

 

15

Winnipeg

Tomoya Machino

OL

Japan

 

16

Toronto

Toshiki Sato

K

Japan

 

17

Edmonton

Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei

DL

New Zealand

 

18

BC

Bo Qiao Li

DL

China

 

 

THIRD ROUND SELECTIONS

No.

Team

Name

Position

Country

 

19

BC

Takeru Yamasaki

K

Japan

 

20

Edmonton

Tibo Debaillie

DL

Belgium

 

21

Calgary via TOR

Aaron Donkor

LB

Germany

 

22

Winnipeg

Ayo Oyelola

LB

Great Britain

 

23

Saskatchewan

John Henry Nell

K

South Africa

 

24

Montreal

Taku Lee

RB

Japan

 

25

Calgary

Isaac Alarcon

OL

Mexico

 

26

Hamilton

David Izinyon

LB

Great Britain

 

27

Ottawa

Christopher Ferguson

OL

Bahamas

 

 

FOURTH ROUND SELECTIONS

No.

Team

Name

Position

Country

 

28

Ottawa

Tony Anderson

DB

France

 

29

Hamilton

Dominik Eberle

K

Germany

 

30

Toronto via CGY

Max Duffy

P

Australia

 

31

Montreal

William James

DB

Sweden

 

32

Saskatchewan

Sebastien Sagne

REC

Finland

 

33

Winnipeg

Arryn Siposs

P

Australia

 

34

Toronto

Sammis Reyes

REC

Chile

 

35

Edmonton

Matt Leo

DE

Australia

 

36

BC

Niklas Gustav

DL

Germany

 

Lucas Barrett

Director, Communications & Public Affairs, Canadian Football League

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