The NFL Academy is a major initiative that aims to provide full-time high-school education for 16-19-year-olds alongside elite training in American football
We know what’s coming, we’ve seen it before. Every October since 2007, bar a Covid hiatus, the London sporting scene gets infiltrated by an invasion from across the pond. The sporting superpower that is the National Football League comes to town and thousands of fans in garish, oversized jerseys can be seen wondering the streets. This year is no different: three games spread over three weekends, each one, whether it’s at Wembley or Tottenham, packed to the rafters.
But there is now another NFL London game, a fourth one, a match attended by maybe 2,000 people, but one that is a vital for the future global growth of American football. In fact you could argue it is far more important to the NFL than how many times Aaron Rodgers gets sacked by the Minnesota defence. But this is a game played by a bunch of teenagers. On Tuesday night, just two days after the Jets and Vikings battled it out there, the Spurs Stadium saw the NFL Academy host one of the top American high schools, one rich in history and pedigree, the De La Salle Spartans.
The NFL Academy take on De La Salle Spartans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/13/tackles-and-textbooks-inside-the-uk-nfl-dream-factory
Author : Tom Jenkins
Publish date : 2024-10-13 07:00:51
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