The Los Angeles Chargers owner, Dean Spanos, has denied reports his team are open to moving the NFL franchise to London.
According to a report in the Athletic, the team would listen to the NFL if the league approached them to discuss a relocation to the UK, where they would play their home games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
On Tuesday, Spanos strongly denied the reports. “It’s total fucking bullshit,” he told reporters. “We’re not going to London. We’re not going anywhere. We’re playing in Los Angeles. This is our home, and this is where we are planning to be for a long fucking time. Period.”
The Chargers currently play at Dignity Health Sports Park, the home of Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy. They have struggled to draw significant crowds since relocating from San Diego in 2017, and away fans often dominate the stands at their home games. The Chargers plan to move into a new $4.5bn stadium that they will share with the city’s other NFL team, the Rams, in 2020.
Rumors of an NFL franchise in London have swirled ever since the league started playing regular fixtures in the UK in 2007. There are currently three NFL games in London a year, and another team with disappointing home support – the Jacksonville Jaguars – have been linked with a move across the Atlantic.