Lifelong Riders fan Scott Banda now ‘non-partisan’ chair of CFL board of directors

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Scott Banda, a Saskatchewan farm boy who spent 20 years with Federated Co-Operatives, has been named chair of the Canadian Football League’s board of governors.

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Among his first unofficial duties was stashing all his green and white clothing.

“I’ve been a (Riders) fan all my life. … In this province that tends to be part of our birthright, but as of now I am non-partisan.”

The 57-year-old, who grew up in Marcelin, Sask., played safety and running back in six-man football in high school, and is a University of Saskatchewan alum. He said the CFL role fits a recent shift in his lifestyle, as he’ll be able to devote a few days to it each month.

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“I wasn’t looking for another job,” he said. “I consider this more of a role than a job as the time requirements are part-time. … I had said to everyone at FCL and beyond as I was going through my retirement process that if I get anything next it wouldn’t be full-time and it would be in an area where I would consider the subject fun, and the CFL and football in Canada definitely meets that requirement. So the timing was actually perfect.”

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He announced his retirement from Federated in January, but his last official day on that job was May 6. His first act as chair came on May 19 at the CFL’s annual meeting. He also presided over the governors’ vote on ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players Association earlier this week.

“My job is to steer the board of governors. When I look at that role, that’s where I spent the better part of 20 years, bringing multiple owners together, multiple stakeholders, very diverse groups, building strategy, aligning on that strategy to execute and ultimately building accountability in that. So from my perspective, I’m really excited to work with the board of governors.”

Banda wouldn’t divulge the term of his appointment.

“That’s between me and the league. We’ll have to figure out just how long this will go.”

Banda becomes the 40^th board chair and inherits the job from Dale Lastman, who helped guide the league through the difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the 2020 season and the shortening of the 2021 campaign.

“During my tenure, our governors worked together with our commissioner to put the CFL on stronger footing,” said Lastman, who remains on the board as a director of the Toronto Argonauts.

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