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“No, because if we’re being honest — and I haven’t seen these players and this is not being disrespectful — but is a player from the Mexican league going to be as good as a receiver that we had, potentially, from USC that has gone to the AAF?” said Sunderland, who is coming off the annual CFL meetings in Quebec this week. “No, he’s not. It’s cultural, it’s the coaching you’ve had and the levels that you’ve played at.

“Most of the guys that we get, if they’re not directly from college, have probably cycled through an NFL camp. So you’re talking fringe NFL players to the Mexican football league. And again, that’s not a shot at that league, but let’s be honest about it: They’re not in the same conversation.”

One thing is certain, the international rebranding taking place has all started to come together quite quickly since CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie first announced his vision for CFL 2.0 in Edmonton at the end of November.

“At the Grey Cup when we met, it was put out there that we were going to be doing this,” Sunderland said. “But it’s one thing to talk in theory and then, all of a sudden, flights are booked to Mexico City.

“So that changes things.”

Photo by Larry Wong / POSTMEDIA

Growing the game

But as far as the commish is concerned, the time for change is due.

Ambrosie’s main focus of the league’s winter meetings in Quebec this week was how to not only grow the game at the grassroots level in Canada, but also expand outside of Canadian and American borders.

“How do we develop a bigger football infrastructure in Canada, how do we grow the game and give more Canadian kids chances to play football?,” Ambrosie said in a sit-down with Postmedia. “That can help us as a supply chain for the league.