This past weekend the NFL took its stellar product across the pond to London’s famed Wembley Stadium where it was received with open arms. Prior to the game a a tailgate party took place outside Wembley Stadium, which featured a mock Golden Gate Bridge, various games areas, and a central ‘pitch’ with seating where shows were put on for fans. According to reports, more than 35,000 match ticket holders made their way to the party.
NFL football doesn’t receive the same type of attention across the pond as it does here in North America, and betting wise it doesn’t compete with the other football, but anytime the NFL takes its act on the road it’s sure to turn some heads.
William Hill spokesman Graeme Sharpe told Calvinayre.com “We always welcome the Wembley match as it produces an upturn in betting on a match which would otherwise be run of the mill, and boosts the profile of the game over here as the season moves towards its most dramatic moments.”
No doubt this is exactly the type of reaction the NFL is looking for as continues to try and grow it’s product overseas. But what’s the next step? Graeme Sharpe explains, “Every year, the Wembley game prompts English NFL fans to debate whether there will be an English franchise playing in the NFL.”
The question remains, just how far away are from the NFL setting up shop across the pond? “The main issue with having a franchise in England would be the amount of traveling that the American teams would have to undertake, however, there are very few short journeys in the NFL and the distance between England and America, is not much different to the distance between Seattle and Chicago,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.
With that said, William Hill is one of the bookmakers offering odds on NFL expansion. William Hill is offering 25/1 odds that the game’s biggest showpiece, the Super Bowl, is held at Wembley before the 31st December 2019, and 50/1 odds that an English NFL Franchise To Appear By 2020 and 50/1 odds that an NFL Post-Season Game To Be Played At Wembley Next Season.
