Jaguars to jingle FA cash registers

Image: Populous

The National Football League (NFL) will return to Wembley (UK) for the first time in three years this Autumn providing a £2 million boost to the Football Association’s (FA) (ruling body for English football) finances.

The ‘Daily Mail’ stated that the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to bring one of their eight ‘home’ games in the 2022 campaign to Wembley, in addition to two matches in the NFL’s newly created international round that will be staged at the 62,850-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England (UK).

The Wembley Stadium is a football stadium in Wembley, London (UK). It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the England national football team, and the FA Cup Final. Wembley Stadium is owned by the governing body of English football, the Football Association (the FA), whose headquarters are in the stadium, through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL). With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida (US). The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference South division. The team plays its home games at the 67,164-capacity TIAA Bank Field.

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference.

The ‘Daily Mail’ further stated that the Jaguars, the franchise of the Championship team Fulham F.C. (UK) owner Shahid Khan who failed in his £600 million bid to buy Wembley four years ago, played one match each season at the national stadium from 2013 to 2019, although that contract has now expired. The FA is also in advanced talks over another multiyear deal with the Jaguars.

Any new staging contract for the Jaguars will lead to renewed speculation about the franchise relocating to London on a permanent basis, but that prospect has not advanced significantly in recent years.

The Jaguars’ game will net the FA at least £2m in ticket and hospitality revenue in a significant boost after losing events in the pandemic.

The Jaguars’ scheduled Wembley fixture in 2020 was canceled and they did not return last year, although Spurs did stage two games this season as part of their separate 10-year deal with the NFL.

The expanded international round will see each of the 32 NFL teams play at least one of their 17 fixtures overseas. In addition to London, games will be played in Germany, Mexico and Canada.

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