NFL Returns To Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024

Since 2007, the National Football League (NFL) has worked to expand American football globally. Every year, millions of fans are interested in the sport, primarily through the International series, which increases location every season. That way, most people on Earth can watch some of the best NFL players in the world.  

In September 2023, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium revealed they would increase the number of NFL matches held in the enclosure, having at least two games there every season until the 2029-2030 series. The multi-purpose stadium will be the NFL official headquarters in London since the league spent over €13 million on the construction. It’s also the first and only NFL stadium outside the U.S.

The chairman of Tottenham, Daniel Levy, talked about how the games in the stadium have brought so many fans that have helped the local economy and vibrance overall. It was reported that since the regular games started, London’s economy has improved by £350 million yearly, creating more than four thousand jobs.

“We are extremely proud to be given official status as the home of the NFL in the U.K. and look forward to seeing the excitement that gamedays bring to Tottenham for many more years to come,” he added.

Still, Tottenham has worked as a place for many events, including live halftime shows, boxing matches, concerts, Premier League games, and more.

The executive vice president of the NFL, Peter O’Reilly, explained, “Taking our game to more fans around the world is a major priority for the league and its 32 teams, and we are delighted to be returning to London and Munich in 2024.

Whether tackle or flag football, international passion or the game and the NFL continues to grow, and having our teams and their world-class athletes play games and engage with fans worldwide is an important part of becoming a truly global sport.”

The League Is Back In London

Tottenham will be the home for the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings each in a regular season game where they would be the hosts. The Bears have traveled to England on two different occasions, in 2011, when they won against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in 2019, when they didn’t have such good luck against the Oakland Raiders.

As for the Vikings, they have only won when, in the U.K., they have beaten teams like the New Orleans Saints, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Cleveland Browns. They have some great players, including Jordan Hicks, one of the most famous athletes from Colorado.

Mark Wilf, the president, and owner of the Vikings, stated that the team is thrilled to come back to England to represent the sport internationally; he added, “We’ve seen tremendous international support of the Vikings with our previous three London games and with our successful bid to land the United Kingdom as global Market.”

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars will return to London to host at Wembley Stadium for the 10th time, and 12th overall in the U.K. This return marks part of their three-year contract with Wembley, though it ends in 2024, owner Shahid Khan has talked about the possibility of extending the deal with the stadium, turning it the permanent European home of the Jaguars.

On the other hand, the Carolina Panthers will visit Munich, Germany, to host a match in the Allianz Arena or the latest regular season game. This would be the team’s third consecutive regular season in this country. David Tepper, the Panthers owner, stated that playing in Germany not only helps them engage a new audience but also marks a connection with their native community in America.

They haven’t announced the visiting teams or dates yet, but they will be one of the nine scheduled regular season home games during the spring.

There have been 36 games in London so far since the International series started as part of the NFL’s Global Market Program. The designated teams are part of the said program since they hold marketing rights internationally.

The league is determined to grow the discipline with new clubs; since the Global Market Program, originally called the International Home Marketing Areas Program, started in 2022, they have worked in new fan engagement as hard to keep the passionate ones.

While talking about the program, O’Reilly said, “We know that global fandom is accelerated through direct engagement with our clubs and players, and we are excited to see the program’s continued impact to reach and engage more fans and grow the sport at every level globally.”

In a recent conference, it was voted that NFL clubs increase their league-operated international games from four to eight games per season instead.

The plan is to increase even more cities and stadiums to host NFL games. They also announced that they will take the series to South America for the first time in football history. Though they haven’t disclosed the team that will have the honor, they said it will be in São Paulo, Brazil.

However, fans were surprised when the NFL notified them that there won’t be any games in Mexico this year, as the renovations to play in Estadio Azteca haven’t been completed. Still, they affirm the matches will return to Mexico once everything is settled.