Mayor of London has ‘high hopes’ for NFL franchise ‘in the next few years’
The NFL and English Premier League together announced over the summer a 10-year agreement to play at least two American football games per season at Tottenham Hotspur’s new soccer stadium when the state-of-the-art facility opens in 2018. As it turns out, that two-game minimum may be a conservative estimate.
During a Q&A with his followers on Twitter, Mayor of London Boris Johnson — he of the Donald Trumpian hair — hinted that Tottenham has “high hopes” to land an NFL franchise “in the next few years.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has long expressed a desire to expand the game globally with a franchise in London, despite the obvious financial, scheduling and travel concerns with establishing a team overseas.
“With growing enthusiasm for the NFL in the United Kingdom, we are committed to hosting NFL games in world-class venues and are excited to partner with Tottenham Hotspur to play games at their future stadium,” Goodell said in the statement announcing the 10-year stadium deal this past summer. “We share a vision and commitment to creating the best experience for our teams, fans and the local community.”
The NFL has been playing games in the UK since 2007, and this year’s schedule features three at Wembley Stadium, including an Oct. 25 game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills that will be live-streamed on Yahoo. The New York Jets and Miami Dolphins will play an AFC East rivalry game across the pond on Oct. 4, while the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions square off in London on Nov. 1.
In a 2014 interview with NFL Total Access, Goodell said a London-based team “could be five or 10 years away,” which isn’t all that far off from Johnson’s estimation on social media. We’ll believe it when we see it, but so long as the Tottenham team has two linebackers nicknamed “Bangers and Mash,” I’m game.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
