{"id":429203,"date":"2026-10-16T04:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T04:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/429203\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T04:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T04:30:23","slug":"with-the-jaguars-on-the-rise-uk-fans-nervous-about-teams-plan-to-reevaluate-its-london-strategy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/429203\/","title":{"rendered":"With the Jaguars on the rise, UK fans nervous about team’s plan to reevaluate its London strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON — Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence cited London\u2019s \u201chistory and the feel and charm\u201d on Sunday after a dramatic victory<\/a> over the Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we have a strong connection and tie to London,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing here for a long time. Who knows if that will change?\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, it\u2019s quite possible it could.<\/p>\n

The Jaguars<\/a> said before the season that they\u2019re going to \u201ctotally reevaluate\u201d their London strategy. Their economic motivation to play in London each year \u2014 usually at Wembley Stadium like they\u2019ll do Sunday against the Houston Texans<\/a> \u2014 will decrease when their stadium renovation in Jacksonville<\/a> is complete, expected in time for the 2028 season.<\/p>\n

Under owner Shad Khan<\/a>, the Jaguars were early adopters of the NFL\u2019s international push and started playing annual games in the British capital in 2013. Khan also owns London-based Fulham in the Premier League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jags fans in the U.K. are hoping the team doesn\u2019t disappear.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve supported them through the lean years \u2014 until 2025, the Jags had never brought a winning record to London.<\/p>\n

But now, expectations are sky high.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re totally bought in,\u201d Scottish fan Keir Robinson said Sunday before kickoff at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Jags beat the Eagles 19-17. \u201cWhat Liam Coen is doing just now is incredible. This is our time. I think we are playoff-bound, could be Super Bowl-bound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson and his wife, Julie, took a 7 a.m. flight from Edinburgh to London for the game.<\/p>\n

As for the future?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they were here every second year, that would be big for us,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they never come back, five years down the line am I still a Jags fan? I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another fan, John Rawson of Dorset in southwest England, added \u201cit would be a shame\u201d if the team changed course.<\/p>\n

The Jaguars have not made any announcements about their long-term future in London. <\/p>\n

Any potential big changes might not take effect until 2028, when their stadium is complete. The Jags will move most of their home games to Orlando<\/a> next season, when they’ll still have the option of playing three home games in London.<\/p>\n

Team President Mark Lamping told the team\u2019s flagship radio broadcaster<\/a> during the preseason that \u201cour commitment to London is year to year\u201d and that it’s time to “totally reevaluate our London strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to The Associated Press, Lamping said the Jags \u201cwere pioneers in the league\u2019s international strategy by first committing to one home game annually in London beginning with the 2013 season.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Our year-round presence in London since then has been a major plus for the league, the U.K. and our home market of Jacksonville, which has realized business and tourism benefits made possible only due to our immersion in London,” he added.<\/p>\n

Sunday’s game will be Jacksonville’s 16th in London.<\/p>\n

Britain has a well-developed NFL fanbase with support for a variety of teams. But they\u2019re not all Jacksonville fans, which means there\u2019s some fatigue<\/a> with the Jags coming year after year.<\/p>\n

Matt Cullen, an Englishman who supports the New York Jets<\/a> said: \u201cFans are a little bit bored of the Jags now.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was before Sunday\u2019s drama at Tottenham, but stats back up his sentiment.<\/p>\n

The Jags ranked No. 28<\/a> for most-watched teams on NFL Game Pass in Britain and Ireland in 2025. Jacksonville was also among the lesser-searched NFL teams<\/a> by U.K. fans in 2025, according to analytics company Hyperset Group, based on Google search data.<\/p>\n

Still, attendance at three of the past four Jaguars games at Wembley exceeded 86,000. Tickets were still available this week for Sunday\u2019s game but far fewer than were available a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n

The Jags and nine other teams have NFL-approved marketing rights in the U.K. Few can match Jacksonville\u2019s presence and longevity in Britain, but they\u2019re certainly looking for new supporters.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> held a scavenger hunt in London last week. Fans located purple envelopes downtown and won Justin Jefferson jerseys.<\/p>\n

Of the teams with U.K.-specific social media accounts, the Vikings have the most Instagram followers (almost 43,000), followed by the Jaguars and the Bears. The Jags are way ahead on X.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Bears<\/a> this month are on a \u201cU.K. grand tour\u201d with events in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Bears\u2019 popularity here dates to a 1986 preseason game at the original Wembley Stadium. Mike Ditka<\/a> was Chicago\u2019s coach and defensive lineman William \u201cThe Refrigerator\u201d Perry got the headlines.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON — Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence cited London\u2019s \u201chistory and the feel and charm\u201d on Sunday after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117,8652,110],"class_list":["post-429203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-nfl-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}