Setting an ambitious goal, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, has fervently advocated for Britain to host the first-ever Super Bowl outside the United States. Mandelson, who has been actively lobbying for this milestone event since assuming his ambassadorial role in February, expressed his enthusiasm during a speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Addressing the audience, Mandelson humorously inquired about the presence of NFL representatives, emphasizing his desire for the Super Bowl to be held in Britain. “I’ve made a big pitch for the first Super Bowl outside the U.S. to take place in Britain,” he declared, eliciting laughter from the crowd. “I want that Super Bowl in Britain. I don’t care when it takes place, but I want it announced while I’m ambassador. We love it, we love it.”
The proposition to bring the Super Bowl to London has received support from various quarters, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who views it as a means to further establish the city as the “sporting capital of the world.” Khan stressed the importance of attracting American sports fans to London, underscoring the city’s hosting of NFL games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this year.
While London gears up to welcome two NFL games in October, the Super Bowl remains scheduled for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Feb. 8 next year. Since its inception in 1967, the Super Bowl has never ventured beyond U.S. borders, making the prospect of hosting it in the UK all the more significant.
Interestingly, the Super Bowl isn’t the sole international sporting event that has caught the attention of political figures in the UK. Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, has advocated for the prestigious Open Championship to return to the president’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland. However, logistical challenges and commercial considerations have posed obstacles to this proposal, indicating that such a move may not materialize in the near future.
