MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — The Canadian Football League (CFL), which saw its 2020 season wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic, said Wednesday it plans to stage a shortened 2021 campaign starting August 5.

“We will play CFL football in 2021,” commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement.

The nine-team league had been scheduled to return to the gridiron on June 10 but revised the “target date” and cut the number of games from 18 to 14 per club in hopes of having spectators in the stands when the CFL returns to play.

“Our plans are subject to the state of COVID-19 across the country. A so-called ‘third wave’ in some provinces is forcing us today to postpone the start of our regular season,” Ambrosie said.

The Grey Cup championship game, set for Hamilton, Ontario, was pushed back to December 12.

“Moving the 108th Grey Cup game to December 12 allows us to play as many regular season games as possible this year in light of the unavoidable delays to the start of the season,” Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young said.

“The priority for us is to get our players back on the field to play as much football as possible.”

The CFL will need public health officials across Canada to approve plans for games under COVID-19 safety protocols and with “a significant number of fans in the stands, in a significant number of venues at the start of the season, and in the rest of our venues soon after that, so a 2021 season is financially tenable for our clubs,” Ambrosie said.

“The CFL depends on ticket revenue more than other professional sports leagues in North America. Fans in the stands account for at least half of our revenue. Our clubs already stand to suffer substantial financial losses this year. Playing without fans in the stands would dramatically increase those losses.”

Ambrosie said the league would consider rescheduling to play in places where fans are allowed and move games in other cities to later when spectators might be allowed.

“We have contingency plans in place, should factors beyond our control delay the start of our season beyond August 5. The bottom line is we are optimistic we will have a season in 2021, culminating in a great Grey Cup.”