The Minnesota Vikings continue to expand their UK fanbase after the successful NFL London game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month.
A sold-out crowd of over 60,000 were treated to a tight 23-17 victory for the undefeated Vikings over the New York Jets, as well as London-born two-time NFL champion Osi Umenyiora’s Ring of Honour induction.
It was the first of three NFL games in the capital this season with the Chicago Bears beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-16 a week later.
The Vikings are now 4-0 in London, having won in 2013, 2017, and 2022, and they represent exactly what the NFL is trying to achieve with its international marketing campaign since the first International Series game in 2007.
The UK and Ireland Minnesota Vikings Fan Club, set up in 2015, highlights how the league itself and passionate fans have created a thriving community.
Their co-founder and vice-president John MacDonald said: “Apart from the Jaguars, there’s no other franchise that’s putting more into marketing the game in the UK.”
The Vikings were given the rights to make the UK their International Home Marketing Area, a licence that allows franchises to market, increase fan engagement, and explore commercialisation to build their global brand and drive NFL growth internationally.
The fan club’s charity lead, Robert Osbourne, detailed the expansion of the club, the growth of the NFL in the UK, as well as some of the work he’s doing for good causes.
Osbourne completed a 190-mile walk from the spiritual home of the original Vikings in York to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in six days and in time for the start of the game.
The ‘Skol to the Stadium,’ came from Osbourne’s desire to do a charity challenge event, and raise money for the charity now known as ‘Young Lives vs Cancer’ which helped his sister-in-law greatly after her teenage cancer diagnosis.
He said: “What better than going from the capital of the Vikings to a Vikings game?”
In the buildup to the walk, Herman Abrams, well-known member of Vikings fan club ‘Viking World Order,’ passed away from pancreatic cancer, aged 79.
Osbourne added: “Doing this for a cancer charity after a well-known fan has passed has really touched home.”
Supporters can donate to Osbourne’s charity work here.
The fan club had only 14 Facebook members when Osbourne joined, but interest exploded after the 2022 London game with the help of the marketing from the franchise.
After COVID, the international marketing has led to more sponsors and events at schools to get kids into flag football, which has strengthened the UK fanbase.
But Osbourne admitted he is aware of the limitations facing the NFL’s marketing ambitions.
He said: “Certain games do drag on, and a lot of people in this country are not used to the ad breaks.
“It’s a steep learning curve to learn the game fully, but it is getting more and more popular.”
NFL research has suggested there are over 14 million casual NFL fans in the UK, and with tickets selling out in under two days, the efforts of the league’s franchises are reaping rewards.
According to the BBC, 53% of tickets for the three NFL London games have gone to British fans, showing the home interest in the American sport.
Osbourne added: “The best way to do it is to get a franchise in this country, but I don’t see it happening.”
“The International Pathway Program definitely helps, especially if someone like Louis Rees-Zammit makes a squad.”
The Vikings had even chosen Osbourne to announce their fourth-round draft pick, Khyree Jackson, who sadly passed away earlier this year, at Stonehenge, but technical difficulties got in the way.
The fan club’s purchasing lead, Darren Hails, said: “The Vikings have been fantastic in supporting us.”
Before last Sunday’s NFL London game, the Vikings had collaborated with the fan club and Greenwood pub in Victoria to put on a variety of events, including a watch party, an NFL-themed pub quiz, and a tailgate party.
At the meet and greet event, featuring former Vikings wide receivers Cris Carter and Jake Reed, the familial nature of the Vikings fandom was clear to see.
American fans who’d flown in, the expats in London, and new UK fans shared stories and took pictures with the famous faces.
The NFL now has a stronghold in London, and British fans are taking up the sport like never before.
NFL London continues with the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Chicago Bears this Sunday in Tottenham, and the Jaguars play at Wembley a week later against the New England Patriots.
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