NFL is one of the most watched sports in the world, with millions of viewers every year in America, it appears to be on an upward trajectory of popularity.
Despite it only being in America, it has taken it on the road occasionally with there being matches played in the UK. This allows other fans outside of the US to go and watch NFL live and therefore opens up to a new audience. Those fans are also able to look at the NFL odds and place bets on those live matches, giving them the freedom to bet their way.
With the success that these NFL games being played abroad has had, it’s no surprise that teams are constantly looking to explore the possibility of expanding the NFL world to not just in the US, but the rest of the world. Teams are not only looking at just playing abroad, but also setting completely new teams and leagues in other countries, taking it worldwide.
In this article we’ll be taking a look at NFL’s global expansion and if we could see a team or multiple outside of the US.
Creating new fans
As the NFL is only currently in the US, it may take time to grow, expand and reach new fans. In the past few seasons, they’ve been laying the foundations to begin this, with games being played abroad in places such as London and Germany, and as recent as this year, the first ever game was played in South America.
By doing this, you’re introducing the sport to new fans around the globe, when beforehand they may not have even watched a game due to time difference. With the games now being also played in their home nations, the new fans are all of a sudden able to watch and get involved watching. As more and more games are played abroad, the number of fans outside of the US is only going to keep on increasing, and eventually there will be demand for non US teams and leagues.
New teams and leagues
Once the foundations have been laid and you’ve had enough new fans join who love the sport, you may then be in a position to start the process of setting up new leagues in different countries. Although this would be a monumental achievement, it doesn’t come without its difficulties. You’ll need to look at obtaining funding to start the league up, and get different parts of the country to create new teams to take part.
You’ll also need to look at setting up youth academies to start training the future generation of those teams, however once all is set up and complete, you’ve got a whole new fanbase to enjoy and support for generations to come.
Starting off small
The above points of creating numerous teams may be a long way away, so it would probably start off a lot smaller. You’d likely start off by deciding where else in the world has the most NFL fans, and then look to set up a brand new team there. For example, as a lot of games have been set up in the UK, there may be scope to get a new London based team up and running, who would compete in the NFL, with games being played in both the UK and US.
This would be a great idea to start building up the hype and fanbase in the UK as once they start selling out games in the UK, they could then look at either setting up a new team in the same country, or move onto the next one, for example setting up a team in Germany or Brazil, where games have been hosted before.
Where will the first team be set up
If a new team was to be set up, it would more than likely be in the UK due to the NFL’s popularity there. There’s already a solid fanbase of the sport in the UK, so if a team were to be set up, you could almost guarantee you’d sell out the stadium for each game.
The NFL has been going for many years, and with its popularity only increasing with every passing year, it’s only natural that they’re exploring the possibility of extending the sport to outside of the US. With just how big of a sport the NFL is, it’s surprising that this hasn’t been done already, and with games being played abroad numerous times each season, it’s a no-brainer to look at getting a new team set up.
Whilst there’s still a long way to go before a team is set up, it’s a really exciting time to be an NFL fan as the sport is only going to grow bigger with time.
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