TORONTO — Greg Quick will search the world for top football talent as the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) very first Director, Global Scouting.

“It’s an honour to take on this role at an exciting time for the CFL and its vision for the future,” said Quick. “I love our league. I love what the world has to offer it. And I can’t wait to get started.”

Quick has over 39 years of experience in finding, recruiting and coaching top player talent for the CFL and NCAA. Over the past nine years, he has served as a Defensive Coordinator or Linebackers Coach for three CFL Clubs. He has also previously worked at several NCAA Division I, II and III universities in various roles, including Athletic Director, Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, Offensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach.

“Greg is the right person to fulfill this very important and very demanding job,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the CFL. “Locating and integrating the best football players from around the world is a big part of our CFL 2.0 strategy, as is creating more pathways for Canadian players looking for opportunities to play beyond the U.S. and Canada.”

As Director, Global Scouting, Quick will attend CFL Global Combines this Winter in Helsinki, Paris, Florence, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Osaka and Mexico City – all organized in partnership with football leagues and federations in those countries.

Representing and working on behalf of all nine teams, Quick will identify players to be invited to the CFL Combine next March 26-28. He will also prepare confidential scouting reports on the top prospects for the CFL Global Draft that will be held on April 16, 2020.

The CFL Combine will be followed by two separate drafts in the Spring – one for global players (April 16, 2020) and one for National (Canadian) prospects (April 30, 2020).

Over the past year, the CFL has signed partnership agreements with leading football federations and leagues in eleven countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, and Sweden.

In each partnership, the two sides are working together to grow the game of gridiron football by encouraging more youth to participate, providing more opportunities for players, and seeking new revenue opportunities.

During the 2019 season, CFL rosters featured, for the first time, one global player (from outside the U.S. and Canada) on each team’s active roster and as many as two more on their practice rosters. In 2020, the number of global players per team will increase to two active roster players and up to three practice roster players, meaning as many as 45 Global players may be in the CFL next season.

“On behalf of the CFL, I want to thank all of the highly talented and experienced football people who expressed interest in our global scouting opportunity,” Ambrosie said.

This Sunday features the CFL’s East and West Division Finals which will determine the teams to meet in the 107th Grey Cup presented by Shaw. Canada’s national championship will be played on Sunday, November 24, 2019 in Calgary at McMahon Stadium, and broadcast across Canada on RDS and TSN – the country’s most-watched specialty network. A limited number of tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.ca/GreyCup.