With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to Canada next year, there’s plenty of talk about all the changes coming to the sporting landscape to make such a massive event possible.

Two of the affected parties are tenants of the two Canadian stadiums, as the FIFA World Cup will make the CFL schedule a bit more complicated for both the BC Lions and the Toronto Argonauts.

With the FIFA World Cup taking place across June and July next year, the Lions and the Argonauts will be road warriors for a big chunk of their early season.

“The World Cup is a cultural event, uniting entire countries and communities under a single flag,” said CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston in a release.

“As Toronto and Vancouver welcome the world, we’re grateful to other cities and their tremendous fans for so generously making a home away from home for the Argonauts and the Lions… Toronto and Vancouver are world-class cities, and BMO Field and BC Place Stadium are world-class facilities. We couldn’t be more excited for them to be showcased on one of sport’s biggest stages for the whole world to see.”

BC Lions president Duane Vieneau recently shared some details about the plan on the Sekeres and Price show, as the two teams won’t have access to their own stadiums for the first six weeks of the season.

“In a regular cadence of six weeks of schedule, you would have three home games and three away games. We normally don’t have a bye in the first six weeks, but we would have one bye in that time frame, and we’re looking to have two off-site games in other markets in this province.”

In 2024, the Lions played a game in Victoria..

In addition to the seven games in Vancouver at BC Place, six FIFA World Cup matches are being played at the Argonauts’ BMO Field next year. The Argos have opted to simply play their “home” games on the road against three opponents, playing extra games in Winnipeg, Regina and Hamilton.

“To our incredible fans in Toronto: your passion and loyalty mean the world to us. This temporary move is about showcasing our city and stadium to the world — and when we return, it’ll be with even more energy, excitement and noise!” said Pinball Clemons, the  Argonauts’ general manager.

A full schedule is expected to be released later this year.

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