The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, wants to bring the NFL’s biggest event, the Super Bowl, to London. But he will have to be patient. And the reaction of the fans is clear

After hosting regular season NFL games for 17 years, London Mayor SadiqKhan is now planning to bring the Super Bowl to London. “The Super Bowl is very important to us. We want American sports fans to come to London to watch games,” Khan said this week.

Khan went into the mayoral election he won at the beginning of May with the announcement that he would bring the Super Bowl to the English capital.

One challenge is the time difference: London is five hours ahead of the US East Coast, which would mean the game starting at 9pm local time to make the broadcast in the US meaningful.

Despite Khan’s efforts, it is unlikely that London will host a Super Bowl any time soon. The next three venues have already been confirmed: New Orleans (2025), Santa Clara (2026) and Inglewood (2027).

Super Bowl in London possible in 2028 at the earliest

A Super Bowl in London would therefore be possible in 2028 at the earliest, but even that seems unrealistic. “It’s not impossible, and it’s something that’s been discussed,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told “ESPN” in October 2023: “I don’t think it’s out of the question.” However, he also made it clear that the NFL still prefers cities with their own franchises.

And the fans are also opposed to the proposal. “The Super Bowl belongs in America,” wrote one user on “X”, formerly Twitter. Another user fears that the NFL could lose its true fan base with such a plan

London mayor Sadiq Khan wants his city to host the Super Bowl. https://t.co/yyrBMBgtCH

– ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 30, 2024

Even a London resident made it clear that he didn’t like the idea. “The Super Bowl needs to stay where it belongs. I’m grateful for the three games we have,” he wrote.

The British capital will also host three NFL games in the 2024 season: New York Jets vs. Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears and New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars.