NFL, London Edition

The NFL is the highest level of football in the world. Normally, athletes go from playing at the high school level, then college, and the best of the best make it to the NFL. However, the NFL is working on creating a different route to success catered to international athletes.

The NFL is set to host a combine on October 12th, similar to the one in Indianapolis before the draft, in London, England. The NFL has invited 44 athletes from 14 different countries to the International Combine. The league is hoping to expose football globally, as well as scout new talent. If a player shows potential in the combine, they’ll be invited to train in the states for 3 months. At the conclusion of their training, any player that excites an NFL team will be added to their 2022 roster.

Previously, events like this have been held in Australia (2018) and Germany (2019), which makes this years the 3rd international combine. This event is all apart of a broader program named the International Player Program. The NFL has introduced this to specifically explore international talent. 4 players are currently active in the NFL thanks to the International Play Program; these players include: Efe Obada (UK), Jakob Johnson (Germany), Jordan Mailata (Australia), and Sammis Reyes (Chile).

The NFL understands some players may have restricted travel due to COVID, so they’ve also set in place a combine to happen in Mexico for the remaining athletes.