London NFL franchise remains some way off, players’ union says

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/27/nfl-london-franchise-dallas-miami-oakland

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An American Football franchise in London remains some way off despite the NFL’s growing interest in expanding the game in Britain, a senior figure in the powerful players’ union has told the Observer.

Last week the Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, said it was a matter of “when, not if” the UK gets its own NFL team. But George Atallah, the assistant executive director of external affairs at the NFL Players’ Association, says many “challenges” remain and that his organisation is yet to be consulted about a London franchise.

“There are a lot of unresolved issues,” warned Atallah. “There are challenges with the time difference, facilities, medical staff and other things related to the changes to players’ working environment that would need to be agreed.

“A permanent team in London would require collective bargaining between the league and the players’ union and the NFL have not got to the point where they have said we want to raise it.”

Speaking before ’s game at Wembley between the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders, Atallah added: “Most players enjoy the experience of going over to London and from our perspective a team based in the UK could be viable – but only if the working conditions and health and safety aspects are satisfactory.

The Raiders receiver James Jones has warned his team they need their first win of the season to have any chance of making the play-offs. “To me it’s a must win,” he said. “We got a lot of vets on the team and we know the percentages. You never know how the season is going to turn out but when you go 0-4 it’s hard to make the play-offs.”

The Raiders, ostensibly the home team, have been enjoying their preparations in Surrey, where have they promoted the sport to local schoolchildren. Many of them also headed into Regent’s Street in central London on Friday for a NFL fan event that attracted half a million people.

But only an elusive win will make their trip to England successful – and it is one they are desperate to get. “There’s really no special formula,” said their head coach, Dennis Allen. “It’s really about guys going out and executing their job and, when they do, they find they have success and they build confidence.”

The numbers do not make pretty reading. The Raiders offense have the lowest average points per game (12.3), as well as the fewest average yards per game (254.3) of all the NFL’s 32 teams. But they were heartened by last Sunday’s narrow 16-9 defeat at the New England Patriots and, with the rookie quarterback Derek Carr showing deeper flushes of talent, they believe they are heading in the right direction. But as far as their chances this season are concerned it is Miami or bust.