Will There Ever Be a NFL Team Based in the UK?

The NFL has been staging games in the UK for some time and is steadily acquiring a loyal fanbase. In 2019 there were four games held in London, two at Wembley and two at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium. 

There have been rumblings for some time about the possibility of the NFL playing in the UK more regularly, but could it ever really happen?

The new stadium at Tottenham Hotspurs certainly helps as it was constructed with the NFL in mind. Easily adaptable to NFL games, any team in London would have an immediate home rather than relying on Wembley. 

Here's a closer look at the pros and cons of basing an NFL team in the UK and the likely impact on NFL betting.

Every sport needs a fanbase to succeed, and in the UK, there's already a loyal following. Tickets for the NFL games which were held in London were quickly snapped up with fans keen to see their favourite teams play in real life. 

Building up a fanbase from nothing can take some time, but the NFL wouldn't need to do that. Fans of all the NFL teams have already shown they're interested in seeing live-action, and it wouldn't take long for a large and devoted following to build up.

As we mentioned above, the NFL already has a natural home that’s ready and waiting in the UK. The Tottenham stadium was recently extended and rebuilt, and as part of the design, suitability for NFL games was considered. 

This means that any team moving to London would have an instant home, making the transition quick and easy and allowing them to reach a whole new army of fans very quickly.

As much as fans enjoy watching sport, it's also about generating profit and revenue for the teams. The UK market has never been fully explored for NFL, even though there's a niche market that already follows the sport.

This means that any team moving to London would enjoy the benefit of reaching a whole new audience first, swelling their fanbase significantly and helping to launch the sport properly in the UK.

Unlike UK sports, NFL teams are already used to flying all over the country and travelling significant distances to play their matches. The US is a much bigger country than the UK, so the NFL is set up to provide teams with the time to travel around. 

This means, in theory, it shouldn't be too different for NFL teams to fly between the UK and the US. However, the more significant time differences and the complications of crossing international borders may make the distance and travel more challenging to manage.

If a team is performing poorly, you need a pretty loyal set of fans to keep turning up to the matches. As an NFL team would take a little while to establish a large and regular fanbase, there would be real pressure on them to perform in the meantime to maintain interest. 

Any big transition can be difficult, and performances can often waiver. If a team is performing poorly, fans will lose interest in the NFL betting, leaving the franchise left with no option but to return to the US and abandon the venture. 

This would be a very drastic outcome and the last possible option, but to avoid this, any NFL team making the move would have to deliver strong performances to keep the fans interested in the short-term.