Former CFL player Dequoy back playing football with Canadian men's flag team

Roughly six months into retirement, Marc-Antoine Dequoy is back competing for a football championship.

The 31-year-old safety is with the Canadian men's team that's in Duesseldorf, Germany, for the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) world flag football championship. Dequoy announced his CFL retirement in February following five seasons with the Montreal Alouettes.

"I was just done playing football physically," Dequoy said. "When you sign a CFL contract, you sign up for 18 games and I knew my body wouldn't let me make that commitment of a full off-season, training camp and 18 games.

"For me, it was about being true to the sport. If there's any hesitation, the risks increase two, three times. I've been playing at one speed all of my life until the end and that's when I realized it was probably time."

Sara Parker, Marc-Antoine Dequoy highlight Canada's flag football rosters for world championships

Still, the six-foot-one, 195-pound lle-Bizard, Que., native didn't immediately take to flag football.

"Coach LaPolice (Canadian head coach Paul LaPolice) called me right after and asked if I was interested," Dequoy said. "I told him right away, 'I just retired, this wasn't on my mind.' I have to take care of myself, take time with my family and just go through the process.'

"But I did my research over the next few months, talked to friends who played flag football and decided to give it a try. I played a few games, I had fun and was able to compete."

However, Dequoy had to step away from March through May to co-host the television show Avec ou Sans Cash (With or Without Cash). Dequoy and co-host Eleonore Lagace travelled to 10 cities across the world and a coin flip determined which one would get $1,500 a day to