Spurs home to ‘spur’ on NFL matchups

Article posted by Coliseum, September 20^th, 2023

Image: Coliseum GSVA

The Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and the National Football League (NFL) recently announced the expansion of their partnership through the 2029-2030 NFL seasons. As part of the agreement, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be given official status as the ‘Home of the NFL’ in the United Kingdom.

‘NFL’ stated that under the terms of the expanded partnership, a minimum of two regular season NFL games a year will continue to be played at the world-class, multiuse stadium – the only stadium purpose-built for NFL games outside of the United States, with bespoke facilities including its own playing surface, locker rooms and media areas.

The Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England (UK). It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.

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The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in North London (UK), replacing the club’s previous ground, now-demolished the 36,284-capacity White Hart Lane in Tottenham. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the third largest football stadium in England and the largest club ground in London.

The 2024 Coliseum Summit Europe will be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK, from March 26^th-27^th, 2024.

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

‘NFL’ further stated that the first-of-its-kind partnership has already delivered a series of unforgettable games in front of soldout crowds in Tottenham, with 12 of the league’s 32 teams having already experienced the stadium. Two games are set to be played there during the 2023 NFL London Games in October.

Observed Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., “Our partnership with the NFL has been integral to our wider vision for the stadium and delivering a sports and entertainment destination in London. Creating additional recurring sources of revenue to reinvest in our football activities is a key part of the club’s financial model. The NFL gamedays at our stadium are special occasions where we see fans from around the world descend on Tottenham, bringing so much vibrancy to the High Road and supporting our local economy. As the NFL continues to grow its fan base throughout Europe, we are extremely proud to be given the official status as the Home of the NFL in the United Kingdom and look forward to seeing the excitement that gamedays bring to Tottenham for many more years to come.”

Remarked Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, “We are excited to extend our partnership with the Tottenham Hotspur through the 2029-2030 seasons and look forward to hosting future NFL games in the world-class Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Official Home of the NFL in the United Kingdom. Growing the game globally is a major strategic priority for the league. Our commitment to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will allow us to continue to bring extraordinary NFL experiences to fans in London while creating a positive social and economic impact on the local community.”

Stated Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, “London is the sporting capital of the world and this expanded partnership between the Tottenham Hotspur and the NFL is fantastic news for Tottenham and our City. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has fast become a beacon for world-class football and entertainment, boosting London’s local economy by over £300m every year. With further NFL matches taking place at the stadium, sports fans everywhere will be able to enjoy even more of what our great capital has to offer.”

The memorable events have included live Halftime shows from some of the biggest stars in music, pyrotechnics, military flyovers, and even the US national anthem performed on top of the stadium’s roof.

Many of the activations enjoyed by the fans in and around the stadium on gamedays are delivered by the local people as the NFL has embraced the community of Tottenham. It is an example of the wider community benefits delivered through the stadium development that has created more than 4,000 jobs for the local people to date.

Through staging major events such as the NFL, boxing, rugby, and concerts, as well as Premier League football and additional Visitor Attractions, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has become a new sports and entertainment destination for London bringing a boost of circa £344m to the local economy every year. The stadium has been included as one of the 10 host venues for the United Kingdom and Ireland’s joint bid to host the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2028.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of the six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The 2028 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA EURO 2028 or simply EURO 2028, will be the 18^th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organized by the UEFA for the men’s national teams of its member-associations.

The new audience that the NFL brings to Tottenham on gamedays has provided huge footfall for the local independent businesses along the High Road.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has also hosted additional NFL events, including:

An NFL Foundation UK community event delivered in partnership with the Tottenham Hotspur and Nike (American athletic footwear and apparel corporation), giving the local young people the opportunity to take part in football and the NFL flag football activities alongside the expert coaches;
The NFL team Miami Dolphins made their sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft live from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with actors from the cast of the TV show ‘Ted Lasso’ (an American football coach is hired to manage a British soccer team. What he lacks in knowledge, he makes up for in optimism, determination and biscuits) announcing their selection;
The NFL Academy Combine, where young players from across the United Kingdom showcased football skills with the ambition to join the NFL Academy program. The Academy provides talented students with pathways into employment, education and scholarship opportunities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football in the United States; and
The NFL International Combine, where talented player prospects from more than 12 countries are identified as part of the NFL International Player Pathway program.

The expanded partnership will see further plans for joint community programs developed.

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