American football is America’s game. A lot of different nations have their own sport or an athletic activity they can rightly and proudly call their own. For the Australians, it’s Aussie Rules football. For the Japanese, it’s sumo wrestling. For people in Thailand, it’s Muay Thai kickboxing. Sure, these sports have surfaced at the grassroots level (and beyond in some cases) in other regions of the world, but will nonetheless remain an intrinsic part of the nation in which they were born.
The NFL, or American football in general, is wholly American – rugged, patriotic, vast, complex, awe-inspiring and soaked in consumerism. Imagine then, if you will, the hullabaloo that went on when it was officially announced that wheels were in motion for NFL fixtures to take place on British soil. Such a thing was unthinkable a few decades ago. But American football is changing. Once, it was America’s and America’s only. Now, the officials at the National Football League have decided it’s time to share their game with us – their transatlantic cousins. By playing a few games a year in the United Kingdom, the NFL have shown the world their eagerness to diversify, as well as a willingness to incorporate foreign culture into their beloved national sport.
Naturally, there have been a few teething problems, and the relationship between NFL and Britain is still very much in its infancy. Yet, there has been considerable evidence to suggest that there is a future for the National Football League in Britain. Here, we examine how and why the NFL first came to the UK, as well as what the future holds for American football being played on British soil.
Why Has the National Football League and American Football Come to the UK?
The first question you may be keen to learn the answer to is: Why has the NFL decided to move to the United Kingdom in the first place?
Simply put – the NFL determined in 2007 that it wanted to play games away from America in order to promote the game outside of the States and increase awareness and interest on foreign lands. As a result, the bigwigs at the National football League thought up the concept of the NFL International Series – a system where a handful games during the regular NFL season would be played in other countries around the world.
England was the first country to host the NFL International Series, but it has since expanded to other countries, such as Germany, Brazil, and Spain. Stadiums in the UK that have hosted include Wembley, Allianz Stadium (formerly Twickenham Stadium), and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – all of which are located in the nation’s capital city of London.
History
NFL abroad still feels to new to many, especially those of us who live in the UK. That said, whilst the NFL International Series remains relatively youthful as a project, it was not the first attempt by NFL officials to instil the game of American football in other areas of the world. Back in 1989, NFL Europe erupted – a professional American football league that took place all over Europe and was supported by the National football League. Unfortunately, Europe never truly embraced the concept, and the competition didn’t last.
Still, the NFL weren’t to be deterred. Instead of backing a separate competition, they decided to move a regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers to Mexico in 2005. Funnily enough, this first out-of-country NFL fixture actually drew a record crowd for the competition – with 103,467 fans in attendance. This attendance record has since been broken (105,121 watched the New York Giants play the Dallas Cowboys in 2009), but it revealed that the NFL had huge potential for spreading its wings and that an audience for the game definitely existed outside of the United States – despite the ultimate failure of NFL Europe.
Two years later, the NFL International Series was launched. The first ever-official game took place on October 28th, 2007 and featured the New York Giants against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in the UK. There was a considerable amount of buzz around the match before kick-off, and from the moment ticket sales were officially opened, nearly half the stadium sold out in the space of an hour and a half. Those ticket sales doubled as kick-off edged closer, and the official crowd announced at Wembley Stadium turned out to be 81,176. The Giants went on to win the first UK-based regular season NFL game 13-10, making history in the process.
From that moment on, things would never be quite the same again. It proved that the NFL wanted to attract the attention of the British people, and the reaction they received was a welcome one. Apparently, UK sports fans were more than willing to embrace the NFL and turned up in droves to watch their first live NFL game. They’ve kept coming back ever since, with attendances actually on the up since the Giants beat the Dolphins in Game One nearly a decade ago.
The NFL on Regent Street
In 2013, the NFL attempted to enhance the match day experience for their UK-based fixtures by launching an event on Regent Street in London known as “NFL on Regent Street”. The plan was for the busy shopping streets to be pedestrianised and populated with fan zones, stalls, food stands, and NFL merchandise desks all set up in various locations. This pre-match event had proven enormously popular and still goes on to this day, with an incredible 600,000 people (estimated) descending upon Regent Street in 2015 – the fan festival’s third instalment.
Everything about NFL on Regent Street is strictly American, all set against a quintessentially British background. The atmosphere is electric with interactive games, musical performances, cheerleader dances, and celebrity appearances taking place at various at times and areas along Regent Road.
Activities & Events
Here are some of the activities and events that took place at the NFL on Regent Street in previous years:
- Performances from US university marching bands
- NFL Lab: Where ordinary folk squared off against NFL legends and current players
- Dances from the NFL cheerleading teams
- Stalls and shops selling a wide variety of NFL merchandise
- Live interviews with NFL legends
- Interactive NFL-themed games
- Promotional materials centred on the teams involved in the NFL International Series
Ticket Information
Tickets for the NFL games in the United Kingdom can be bought online on the official NFL website: https://www.nfl.com/international/games/london.
In addition to tickets, there are a number of hospitality packages that are available for purchase. Hospitality packages don’t come cheap, but those who do purchase them will get to experience the NFL in all its glory – getting up close and personal with some of the biggest personalities the game has ever seen.
Past hospitality packages, for example, entitled first tier hospitality ticket holders to a four-course NFL-themed ‘dining experience’, a drinks reception, an open bar, a gift bag, the opportunity to meet both cheerleaders and players, and also some of the best seats in the house. The second tier hospitality option entitled ticket holders to a three-course buffet, an open bar, a match programme and some excellent stadium seats.
It is strongly advised to only purchase tickets directly from the official NFL website.