Dukes Meadows Venue For NFL Schools Championships

Super Bowl stars from America were there to cheer the teams

Chiswick's Riverside Lands (Kings House Grounds) was chosen as the venue for the National Football League (NFL) Annual Summer Bowl competition last week.

The National Football League is the biggest sport in the United States, with more than 160 million people watching the Super Bowl each year. Since 2007, the league has been playing regular-season games in London, and its popularity with schools is now growing. The NFL in the UK is sponsored by Subway.

Chorley Seahawks from Chorley ( above) were crowned NFL Flag Tournament Champions after a closely run contest.

After a year-long national competition to qualify for the NFL Summer Bowl in London, schools from Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Tewskesbury went head-to-head in a bid to be crowned national NFL Flag Champions.

The Summer Bowl attendees earned their place at the season finale by winning their respective regional tournaments throughout the year and included pupils from Thorpe Primary (Leeds), Primrose Hill (Manchester), George Betts Primary (Birmingham) and Gretton School (Tewkesbury).

On the day around 1,000 children aged from 8-11, were coached and encouraged by six NFL stars, including current Super Bowl champion and Philadelphia Eagle, Mack Hollins and Oakland Raider Jared Allen who acted as honorary coaches. All six NFL players in attendance will be playing in the NFL London Games in October.

More than 10,000 school children across the UK have been involved in the programme since its launch in 2014.

At the 2018 NFL Flag Summer Bowl schools finale, presented by Subway, NFL London Games players including Josh Lambo (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Jurrell Casey (Tennessee Titans) celebrate their training session by tucking into a 6ft Giant Sub, which serves up to 25 people!

Ian Oxborrow, Head Coach for Chorley Seahawks, said, “The kids are delighted to be crowned the national NFL Flag champions today. NFL Flag has been a great programme to be a part of and we’ve first hand experienced the benefits it has to offer. We hope to be going head-to-head with more schools and reclaim our title next year!”

This season sees the first full-time British coach on an NFL team staff . Aden Durde, a Londoner who has come through domestic American football in Britain and is now defensive coach with the Atlanta Falcons.

England football manager Gareth Southgate, who attended the Super Bowl 2018 and spoke to NFL coaches, cited the influence of his study of NFL strategy and media policies during the World Cup.

The organisers say American football is becoming a greater part of the mainstream sporting landscape and their programme is set to expand to include Scotland and Ireland.”

Giant Sub picture credit: At the 2018 NFL Flag Summer Bowl schools finale, presented by Subway, NFL London Games players including Josh Lambo (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Jurrell Casey (Tennessee Titans) celebrate their training session by tucking into a 6ft Giant Sub, which serves up to 25 people!

July 20, 2018