The unexpected region fuelling UK's American football rise

5 days agoJasmine Ketibuah-Foley,West of EnglandandClaire Carter,BBC Radio BristolBAFADozens of schools in the region have brought American football into their PE curriculumsDid you know the current British national champions of American Football are in the west of England? The Bristol Aztecs claimed the championship title in 2025 and also hold four division titles.Their growing fanbase, alongside support for other teams like Swindon Storm, shows interest in the sport in the UK is still on the up. So, for a game wrapped in USA culture and entertainment, how has the region become a hotbed for talent and fans?According to NFL UK, more than 18.5 million people here are watching games and supporting the country's teams.Flag football, a non-contact version, has also become a popular entry point into the sport with about 65 schools in the south west alone taking it up as part of their PE curriculum.Ben Rogers / BAFAThe Bristol Aztecs, founded in 1990, have gone on to become national championsJonathan Fry, a 26-year-old fan from Bristol, said it has been exciting watching the sport "massively grow" in popularity."It's not just my little thing any more, I can share it and talk about it with other people," he said."I've met some great people through it. The fanbase in the UK is passionate."You're on the edge of your seat the whole time when you watch it."As a fan of seven years, Fry admitted he did not realise Bristol had its own team for a long time, but said he is proud to see it gaining prominence in his home city and beyond.He went on to say he hopes the game gets just as big as it is in the USA, but emphasised that we need to get it "done our way"."We can still do it in a way that feels British, we don't need to copy America," he added.Jonathan FryJonathan Fry (second from right) says he is always "on the edge of his seat" when he watches a gameThe association also suggested the west of England had become a strong hub due to its representation in the region's universities such as University of the West of England (UWE) and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS).The UWE Bullets have won four of the last five British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) National Championship titles, with many of their players also representing the Aztecs in the BAFA National League competition."Bristol and the surrounding area in the west of England is becoming a hotbed for talent - a lot of it coming from the universities and colleges," said NFL UK's general manager Henry Hodgson."We're keeping an eye out here," he added.@grapplingwithimagesIn March 2025 UWE's American Football side the Bullets won the BUCS National Championship for a record-breaking fourth year in a rowSGS College run an American Football Academy, also known as 'The Pride', where athletes aged 16-19 can apply to advance their skills, secure pro contracts, or earn USA scholarships.Its team, SGS Pride, fell short in the national American Football final this year.Graduates go on to play with teams such as Swindon Storm, who run an adults, women's, under 19s and under 16s team.SGS PrideSGS College is home to an American Football Academy and the SGS Pride teamAztecs head coach Pete Jones said American football was a "special" sport that brought people and players of "all shapes and sizes" together."I've been with the Aztecs since 2002. We've been around since about 1990," he said."From a performance point of view we've really kicked on - we've grown the club as well. "Now it's about trying to get even more bums on seats and engage."PA MediaIn February, Bad Bunny was the latest artist to perform a Super Bowl halftime showBristol Aztecs managing director, Elliot Hoyte, who is based in the USA, described American football as "an entertainment sport"."Most people would have seen Bad Bunny's performance at the Super Bowl on social media," he said.In the UK, big American football events are not on the same scale, but fans say they still bring a "festival" vibe.Fan and Aztecs player AJ Car said you would be "hard pressed to not see every fan wearing an NFL jersey at a game"."The big games in Wembley and Tottenham are like a festival - all the fans in the UK meet up and celebrate and it's more a celebration for the sport than of just the game itself," Car added.He said the biggest matches sell out every year."When I first started playing there were only four teams and now there's hundreds," he said."The British game is a bit behind, so if people enjoy it they should go and watch their local teams."BAFAFlag football, a non-contact version of American football has become popular at universities and colleges in the westThe game has come a long way since the NFL made it their mission to bring it to the UK."When Channel 4 first launched in the mid 1980s they got the rights to show NFL games and started to show highlights on telly," Hodgson explained."That was really the starting point and out of that grew an appetite for people to watch the sport and play it."The NFL has gained millions of fans in the UK - something Hodgson said makes the future of even bigger games and even more teams possible.Ben Rogers / BAFAPlayer and fan AJ Car said the big games at places like Wembley are now often sold out"Since 2007, we've been playing regular NFL season games in London. And there's been a really strong increase in fans just in the last year," he said."We now have a fanbase of more than 18.5 million people."We want to continue bringing the sport to more places in the UK."