The Superbowl is one of the most-watched events in the world with over 208m people watching it in 2022, but interest in the sport in general is growing year after year, especially outside of the United States.
Wembley has been hosting NFL games for many years now, starting back in 2007 with the New York Giants against the Miami Dolphins. Since then more games have been hosted in London, both at Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur stadium with the Green Bay Packers becoming the final team of the 32 to play in the capital in 2022.
It seems there are plans to grow the game even further in the UK, not just on the biggest stage but at a grassroots level as well. Ahead of Superbowl, the Manchester Evening News spoke to Henry Hodgson, head of NFL UK, about their future plans.
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Hodgson has been with the NFL for many years but became General Manager of NFL UK back in July of 2022. One thing that has been clear to him is the growing interest in the sport during this time.
Superbowl 57 is set to be a showstopper, with a Kansas City Chiefs team led by Patrick Mahomes coming up against a resurgent Philadephia Eagles side, who are back in the finals for the first time since winning the trophy in 2018. Many will be tuning in to just watch that game, but Hodgson believes that in recent years, viewership of the sport as a whole has increased significantly.
He said: "I think there's a lot of momentum, not just behind the Super Bowl. As you say there are certainly a lot of people who are meeting up to watch the game, whether it's in pubs, bars; at home by themselves, or with friends, but I think actually the whole NFL season.
"We're seeing a lot more viewership for the sport and more people following the sport, you know, whether it's on social media, or in other ways. We're seeing more people participating in the sport and people actually playing, whether it's kitted American football or flag football.
"So really growth across the board and the Super Bowl is that pinnacle moment for everyone who's already a fan to come together and enjoy it, but also a really great moment for new people to discover the sport."
And it's this growth that Hodgson and the rest of NFL UK are trying to focus on going forward, especially around people playing and participating in the sport going forward.
After a successful launch of the scheme down in London, NFL Foundation UK are continuing its partnership with Sport England to bring NFL Flag football to Greater Manchester.
The NFL Foundation UK launched in 2021 in partnership with the Mayor of London’s ‘Sport Unites’ fund and they committed a combined £1 million to launch the program in the capital. They are now hoping they can replicate their success in the North West.
As part of the partnership, the NFL Foundation UK will be working with community groups for at least the next two years to provide NFL Flag Football programs, training, and equipment to help young people aged 12-20 participate in the sport which they will hope will allow them to develop the skills, confidence, and self-belief to create their own future, impact society and reach their potential.
Hodgson is incredibly proud of not only how well the sport has been taken on already, with 2500 in the capital participating across 13 London boroughs, but also how it has seemingly broken down many barriers that other sports seem to struggle with: "There's no preconceived notion of who can play and who can't play.
"So, what we've seen is that with the eight groups that we've been working with within London, we've reached about two and a half thousand kids, but 58% of them are girls and 75% of them are from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
"We're getting to kids that probably might not want to play other sports. I think in part obviously, it's because [NFL] Flag is a really fun sport to play, but it doesn't come with any of that sort of baggage of who should or who shouldn't be playing."
So why Greater Manchester? Hodgson was clear in his response: "Manchester is a city that when we look at the number of fans we already have for the NFL, it is the second largest location for fandom, which is not surprising.
"We know that we have to expand a lot of the things that we do as the NFL across the whole of the UK and we see Manchester as a really key city for us to be more present in."
Manchester has always been a big sporting city, and it is no different when it comes to the NFL. Many bars across the city will be preparing for the Superbowl on Sunday such as Shooters in the Printworks and Brotherhood near the Town Hall, but it has also had an active role in getting people playing the sport, with the Manchester Titans being a prominent member of the UK's American Football scene.
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This is the foundation that Hodgson and NFL want to build on and in terms of their ambitions long term for NFL Flag and NFL in the UK, they are aiming high: "I think we'd be crazy if we thought we could be bigger than football, but I think really, what we're aiming for is to be a top three sport with that 12 to 24-year-old audience. We think that's the sweet spot for the NFL to be reaching.
"Playing flag football is one of the ways we can do that. We've also launched in the last couple of years, the NFL Academy, which is a sort of elite pathway for high school-age kids to get a chance to have a good education and all the skills that they need for life, but then also hoping for some of them to get scholarships to US colleges and with the goal of some of them making it all the way to the NFL."
British players playing in the NFL is not unknown, Efe Obada currently plays for the Washington Commanders and Jay Ajayi won the Superbowl with the Eagles back in 2018, but the long-term aim is to increase that number and Hodgson hopes that his plan can do that and create 'local heroes' for young kids to look up to as role models and idolise.
If you want more information about the project you can do so through The NFL Foundation UK's official website. NFL UK is also looking to work with charities in the local area and has opened a new application process for charities across Greater Manchester, you can register your interest and apply for funding here.
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