BC Lions celebrating province’s diversity ahead of Canada Day long weekend

The BC Lions are back in action at BC Place Thursday night, and the club is celebrating the diversity of the province, the fans, and the team.

Former coach Wally Buono will be watching closely and says football is for everyone.

“It can capture the imagination of people who maybe didn’t grow up with football fields, or who are from other countries, from other cultures. And, obviously, the exposure of the game, the excitement, the ambiance of BC Place is going to help,” he told CityNews.

Buono says you see a lot more CFL players today from other parts of the globe, not just North America.

“Not just from Canada or the United States, but you know, you see players from Germany, you see players from Australia, players from France,” he explained.

Buono adds, while celebrating the diversity of Canada, Thursday night’s game is also supporting the community through the Purolator Tackle Hunger program. He explains Lions fans can pitch in, too.

“[With] dry goods, so that they can fill the food banks with more product,” he explained.

“This is something that’s been ongoing for years and I know that fans of the BC Lions have been very, very generous.”

Kick-off at BC Place is at 7 p.m. Thursday against the Edmonton Elks.