The Toronto Arrows were Canada's only professional rugby teamGetty Images
Major League Rugby is losing one of its franchises heading into 2024 as the Toronto Arrows will “cease operations immediately,” according to Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver PROVINCE. The Arrows, which played in MLR since 2019, had been "bankrolled by Toronto financier Bill Webb," who died at 59 this summer, and team management “had been searching for new investment ever since.” Arrows GM Tim Matthews said that Webb’s passing "proved too much to overcome” for the club. Johnston noted “all contracts in Major League Rugby are held centrally by the league” and teams have folded before with “players assigned to new teams via a dispersal draft.” MLR CEO Nic Benson “indicated a similar process would unfold with the Arrows players.” MLR officials in August announced that the team based in Atlanta “would be relocating to Los Angeles." However, Johnston noted "no further details on that move have been revealed.” The league, which had seven teams in its inaugural 2018 season, operated with 12 teams in 2023 with the expansion Miami Sharks "slated to join the fold next season" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 11/27).
