On Top of the World
Football has been America's game, but the world is ready to make it theirs.
Finley Tench asked his mother for one thing this Christmas: Football gear. Finley is 12 years old, and in the UK no child can participate in tackle football until they are 13.
The only problem is that he is super eager to join his junior tackle team, the Giants, despite his birthday not being until June.
That small problem does not stop him from participating in Giants’ practices. He shows up each week just like everyone else, but instead of tackling players, he hits the bags just waiting for his 13th birthday where he can get a taste of what he has been craving for so long.
Finley is one of many people around the world that has been able to fulfill their dream in playing football.
The United Kingdom’s opportunities to pursue football as a hobby or a legitimate pathway to play professionally has grown each year. One of those opportunities lies in the North East Academy of American Football (NEAAF), based in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Janis Ledger is the Manager of Operations at the academy and the academy has had many success stories with their players.
Janis said: “We've got one of our lads who was with the academy, who's now an adult player, and currently at a Division II College in America. We've got three lads who played with us last summer on the Great Britain squad.
“Also, we've sent two of our girls off down to the Women's GB trials.”
The NEAAF has given opportunities to both children and adults, as well as boys, girls, men, and women. The academy has four teams: the Vikings, the adult tackle team, the Shieldmaidens, the tackle women’s team, the Giants, the youth tackle team aged 13-19, and the Rebels, the flag football team for kids aged seven to 14.
The future of the sport lies in the interest it has, and the one age group that has the most influence is the youth.
Janis has been taken aback by their interest, especially in the North East where the top sport is soccer, saying: “They're so excited. They have as much passion as we do for it and they want to learn.”
Even when they had to cancel training due to the snow, the kids still weren’t happy.
“We had to cancel training because of the snow and apparently we had about six different parents going ‘Really? The kids are really grumpy.’”
The interest in the North East has grown so much that each week new faces attend the academy’s training. Janis said: “Every now and again I get an email going, ‘Hey, are you still recruiting players?’ I’ll reply ‘Yeah’, and people just appear. [During a training session in January] we had five new rebels just appear.”
The interest the NFL took to expand their game worldwide is the reason why so many opportunities have been created. The league took serious steps in growing the sport globally once Roger Goodell became commissioner in 2006.
Prior to when Goodell became commissioner, the NFL had some exposure abroad. They hosted their American Bowl games, which consisted of preseason games played internationally, that spanned 13 cities (they played games in West Berlin before the unification of Berlin) across nine countries.
There was also the launch of an international football league, but these initiatives failed in producing more interest in the sport outside of the United States.
The International Series was one of the first initiatives taken by Goodell to grow the league’s international audience. After starting it in 2008, the NFL has played in England, Mexico, Germany, and Brazil, with Spain and Ireland being an added addition in 2025, and Australia in 2026.
The International Series was joined by the Global Markets Program, which started in 2022 giving NFL teams marketing rights in other countries, and International Academies, the Europe-Africa academy located in the UK and the Asia-Pacific academy located in Australia.
The first country that participated in the International Series was the UK. London hosted the first NFL regular season game outside of the US on October 28th, 2008 at Wembley stadium with over 81,000 people in attendance when the New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins 13-10.
Since 2008, the NFL has returned every year, bar 2020 because of covid, and expanded the amount of games played in London to three starting in 2014. The NFL played four London games in 2017 and 2019.
Andy Davies is a UK based NFL writer and podcaster that has been to the NFL London games. He said: “I think every year the atmosphere is getting better.
People still go for a jolly day out, wearing all 32 teams’ jerseys, but 2023 and 2024 [the London games] have felt a lot more like a home crowd.
“There's a lot more stuff going on outside the stadiums. They're doing a lot more fan interactions, as well as tailgating. There was a fan event at Outernet, London, which was insane. It was a very futuristic place where the Vikings had an event.”
Julia Oliveira is a sports journalist and covered the NFL London games during the 2024 season for The Sports Gazette. She said: “The atmosphere was fantastic. It was fascinating to see the immersive fan experience the teams created to engage with their supporters.
“I was surprised by how many people came from all over Europe just for the game. It was also interesting to see how they attracted new fans—people passing by who stopped to see what the experience was about and became part of it.
Julia is also from Brazil, and São Paulo was added to the International Series roster in 2024 hosting the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers.
When reflecting on the impact of having the NFL in her home country, Julia said: “The game in São Paulo generated considerable buzz and became a huge topic of discussion. It’s estimated that this single game generated around $62 million in economic impact. The event was sold out and celebrated widely.
“The impact of that first game in Brazil provided the franchise with measurable evidence of the sport’s popularity in South America. Bringing live games to other countries helps fans feel closer to the teams and fosters a stronger connection with the sport.”
The Global Markets Program has 25 NFL teams with marketing rights across 19 countries for the 2024 season. Along with Mexico, Germany has the most teams with marketing rights.
Mark Lovell is a freelance commentator and journalist in Germany and created content for the Atlanta Falcons German market for a year.
Mark said: “Working with the Atlanta Falcons to connect with German fans was an amazing experience. From tailored social media content to in-market activations, the enthusiasm from fans was palpable. German fans loved learning about the Falcons’ culture, players, and history, and seeing their engagement grow was rewarding.
Germany is special, it is the only country that the NFL has gone to and played in Multiple cities. Munich has hosted two games, one in 2022 and another in 2024, while Frankfurt has hosted two, both during the 2023 season.
The NFL announced its expansion into Ireland and Spain for the 2025 season, as well as adding a new German city, Berlin.
Mark said: “Fans pack stadiums, creating electric atmospheres that rival even U.S. home crowds. Check out the after match sing-a-long and celebrations to “country roads” at the game at the Allianz Arena last year.
“Adding Berlin is a testament to the country’s growing passion for American football—it’s clear Germany is becoming a second home for the NFL.”
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