I was lucky enough to be in the stands for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic game between Notre Dame and Navy in 2023. It was a fantastic atmosphere, in what felt like a Notre Dame home game.
Seeing a blue-blood programme play live after just an hour’s flight across the Irish Sea was fantastic, especially in Ireland, where they have a strong following because of their historical Irish connections and “Fighting Irish” moniker. Notre Dame secured an easy 42-3 win, and although the game wasn’t competitive, it didn’t really matter. It was the occasion, the pageantry and the passion of the event and the fans that really made it.
When I got home from that trip, I thought to myself, “Why don’t we have a yearly college game in the UK?” I couldn’t really understand why a UK fanbase that regularly sells out Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur stadiums to watch NFL games, wasn’t being given a college game to fall in love with. This thought turned into real annoyance and envy shortly after it was announced last year that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings would face off at Croke Park in Dublin. My jealousy just couldn’t understand why Dublin was getting a college game AND an NFL game whilst us in the UK could only get our Saturday fix via DAZN!
Thankfully, the team behind the Union Jack Classic saw the same opportunity, and the prayers of college football fans in the UK were answered when it was announced that UJC had agreed a multi-year deal to host three games at Wembley Stadium. The first of those games took place on Saturday 19th September 2026 and history was made.
I couldn’t really understand why a UK fanbase that regularly sells out Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur stadiums to watch NFL games, wasn’t being given a college game to fall in love with.
The first-ever FBS college football game in the UK took place at the legendary Wembley Stadium last Saturday. The Arizona State Sun Devils outlasted the Kansas Jayhawks 24-17 in a game that gave the 46,523 fans in attendance plenty to enjoy. The first score of the game was a 72-yard punt return by Kansas receiver Tate Nagy, the first play of the second half was a 100-yard kick return touchdown by Arizona State’s Jaren ‘Turbo’ Hamilton, and we were 2-yards away from an 80-yard big man touchdown as Kansas native Hyrum Vaeono recovered a fumble and looked destined to score against his hometown team before being brought down at the 2 yard line.
These exciting plays, paired with three more touchdowns and two more turnovers by the Kansas offense gave us plenty of excitement on the field. Multiple musical acts, light shows and fan games kept the crowd entertained during timeouts and the much maligned commercial breaks demanded by the television networks.
Outside the stadium we had a live recording of Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff as college football legends such as Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, Robert Griffin III, and Matt Leinart entertained fans before kick-off. Events at Passyunk Avenue in Waterloo and Adidas’ flagship London store in Oxford Street, where the Arizona State Sun Devil marching band entertained shoppers and passers-by alike on the Friday made the city of London feel like a college football town for a day at least.
Much like the game in Ireland, it wasn’t so much what happened on the field that mattered. Having history take place in front of your eyes and all the pageantry you expect from a college football game, but here in London, is what made it such a special event. Notre Dame vs Navy felt like the Fighting Irish had brought a home game to Dublin. Arizona State vs Kansas felt like college football had come to London.
Dublin has had an annual college football game every year since 2022 with an average game attendance of 44,656. By that marker, the Union Jack Classic had a fantastic start to life. We know that we will be getting another college game at Wembley in 2027 and in 2028, and that is a great base to build from.
I came back from Dublin in 2023 wondering why we didn’t have something like this in the UK. After Saturday, I think we just might, and I think it could be here to stay.