Report: Canadian Football League to start next season Aug. 5

The Canadian Football League canceled the 2020 season due to financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and jointly announced with the XFL in March those two organizations were working together "to identify opportunities for the leagues to collaborate, innovate, and grow the game of football." 

Before any such partnership becomes official, the CFL will run at least one more season on its own. 

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reports the CFL has told players and agents the new campaign begins Aug. 5. Personnel will start mandatory quarantines on July 2 ahead of training camp sessions that kick off eight days later. Training camp runs through the end of July. 

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, longtime business partner Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital purchased that league from WWE chairman Vince McMahon last August. It was originally announced the XFL, which prematurely ended its 2020 season because of the global health crisis, would resume play at some point in early 2022, but that was before the CFL and XFL began collaboration talks. 

It seems unlikely a CFL/XFL partnership would want to directly compete with NFL and college football schedules.