How Popular is American Football in the UK?
Each year, the popularity of American football, and the NFL in particular, increases across the UK. Super Bowl Sunday is the most watched event of the year, like the dark horse in Italian Football, with millions of people staying up all night to watch the game and more and more people also making plans to watch it in bars and restaurants.
The NFL first learned of the sport’s popularity in the UK during the international series that started in 2007. Both Wembley and Twickenham hosted games in 2017 that drew crowds of over 80,000 spectators and were seen by an additional 23 million viewers on free-to-air television.
Four regular season games, spread over two venues, will be played in the UK for the second time. Two games each would be played at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and at Wembley, where the Jacksonville Jaguars would be making their sixth straight appearance.
It’s hardly shocking that American football has become so popular in the United Kingdom; after all, it’s unusual for a British audience to remain emotionally detached from any sporting event.Can You Bet on American Football?
British fans want to enjoy the sport and profit from events going their way, and bookmakers are happy to help them do both. That’s why UK bookies let you bet on almost every sport there is, American football included.
On top of that, British bettors are eagerly looking for the newest UK friendly betting sites in 2022 as such sites are providing the best odds and have guarantees of reliability and safety. The internet is full of information that can help you realize what to look for in terms of accessibility, security, payment options, game selection, device compatibility, and more.
Background
Most people don’t realize that the first organized American football game in the United Kingdom took place in 1910, between the USS Idaho and the USS Vermont. Furthermore, several matches were played between 1941 and 1945 because of the American troops stationed in England throughout the war.
However, it wasn’t until 1985, when Channel 4 obtained exclusive rights to air highlights of the 1985–86 NFL season, that the market began to show indications of growth; that year’s Super Bowl was viewed by four million people. As a result of the growing popularity of the sport, the first league in the United Kingdom was formed, and by 1986, there were more than 102 teams competing in it. When the World Bowl was initially played in 1991, the London Monarchs came out on top.
The London club’s play at Wembley Stadium contributed to the sport’s growing popularity. Every home game averaged over 40,000 fans. However, the sport’s expansion was stymied when attention shifted to the Premier League, football’s newly founded top division.
After moving to White Hart Lane, the Monarchs’ attendance plummeted to around 15,000 as the English league’s performance declined in the following years. The team rebranded itself as the England Monarchs and embarked on a national tour to increase interest in the sport. But the strategy failed miserably as attendance dropped to below 6,000 and the squad was eventually disbanded.
