![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nThere will also be a 35-second automatic reset on the play clock that begins once a play is dead. And each CFL stadium will have team benches on opposite sides of the field to facilitate substitutions.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
But the biggest moves will come in 2027, when CFL fields will be modified. They\u2019ll be reduced from 110 yards to 100 yards, end zones will go from 20 yards to 15 yard and goalposts will be moved from the goal-line to the back of the reconfigured end zones.<\/p>\n
Johnston\u2019s announcement drew the ire of many CFL fans who felt changing the field was a sign of the league trying to Americanize the Canadian game. But Johnston has been steadfast in saying moving the goalposts back will project a 10 per cent increase in end-zone completions and 60 more touchdowns scored per season. <\/p>\n
He also said the current location of the goalposts not only impedes the fans\u2019 sightlines but also creates potential player-safety issues while severely hampering playcalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly fools don\u2019t change their mind,\u201d Maciocia told reporters during a CFL video conference call from Calgary. \u201cIt\u2019s never perfect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just the reality of what you\u2019re dealing with. I think you need to be open-minded.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Shea, a native of North Bay, Ont., and former CFL linebacker, was somewhat outspoken when the new changes were announced. But time has given the Canadian Football Hall of Fame player a chance to reflect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the raw emotion is gone,\u201d he said. \u201cIt might be sparked again here \u2026 I think I\u2019m certainly in the mindset to listen, and if I believe I have something valuable to add, just like any other year I\u2019ll try and add it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got more of an open mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meetings are slated to conclude Wednesday, after which Johnston is scheduled to hold a media briefing via zoom.<\/p>\n
Among the other items up for discussion are: adjustments to overtime during the regular season; guidelines for CFL players to participate in 2028 Olympic men\u2019s flag football event and the league\u2019s schedule that season; the CFL free agency communication window; CFL player compensation transparency; and potential adjustments to the Grey Cup playoff format.<\/p>\n
Currently the CFL splits its teams into the East and West Divisions, with the top-three qualifying for the playoffs. However, if a fourth-place team in one division has more points than the third-place squad in the other, the fourth-place club will cross over and become the opposing division\u2019s third playoff seed.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a format Montreal head coach Jason Maas said works well but he understands fans becoming upset when they see teams in one division with inferior records qualifying for the playoffs while their club misses out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still provides a very competitive playoff system during the season,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone knows you have to finish at a certain level.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still play football, you still play all the games to win. I think it still works. When bad things happen to you, you want to change it. \u2026 It has worked for quite a long time. It\u2019s still exciting. It\u2019s still part of our league.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Toronto GM Mike Clemons suggested the changes Johnston unveiled last fall haven\u2019t become official just yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an ability to talk and communicate about this so everything is not done,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get a chance to talk about those things (Tuesday) and we\u2019ll see where we go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There will also be a 35-second automatic reset on the play clock that begins once a play is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[879,49,48,521,522,2467,520,2461,2468,2460,2462,2463,44,2464,2465,2466,82],"class_list":["post-408299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-cfl","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}