(Reuters) -A Canadian Football League game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders in Regina on Friday was rescheduled after a long delay due to poor air quality caused by heavy smoke from wildfires. The announcement that the game had been rescheduled to Saturday was made more than three-and-a-half hours after the scheduled kick-off time. […]
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Football-Wildfire smoke forces postponement of Canadian Football League game
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(Reuters) -A Canadian Football League game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders in Regina on Friday was rescheduled after a long delay due to poor air quality caused by heavy smoke from wildfires.
The announcement that the game had been rescheduled to Saturday was made more than three-and-a-half hours after the scheduled kick-off time.
“(The air) was going to clear right around game time or right before game time,” Roughriders CEO Craig Reynolds told reporters.
Scores of wildfires have been burning across Canada since the start of May, including dozens in northern Saskatchewan.
“The wind just died. It just died,” Reynolds said. “And so as a result, that smoke plume just sat there.”
Smoke from wildfires could cause disruptions when North America hosts the soccer World Cup next year.
In January, Los Angeles wildfires forced the relocation or cancellation of numerous sports events, including an NFL Wild Card playoff game between the Rams and Minnesota Viking that was moved from L.A. to Glendale, Arizona.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; editing by Clare Fallon)