The Atlanta Falcons are Headed back to London

The Atlanta Falcons announced yesterday that they have a game scheduled in October at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.

The Falcons will be the home team in the game, taking away one of the games at Mercedes Benz Stadium. The 17 game schedule already had a 9-8 away / home split, so in reality, the Falcons will play 10 games away from home and only seven at home this season.

England has had some of the strictest lockdown measures due to COVID-19 precautions, so the scheduling a game in London for October signals that the UK is confident of being open for business in the Fall.

International football teams from outside of England have been traveling to London to take place in various competitions including Atletico Madrid of Spain going to Chelsea in West London for a UEFA Champions League match. That game was played without spectators.

It’s hard to imagine the NFL traveling to London to play a game behind closed doors, so England’s Lockdown measures should be lifted. The FA, has announced that partial crowds should be allowed for football matches as soon as May 17th at 25% capacity.

Tottenham Hotspur stadium is home to Tottenham Hotspur FC (naturally), a Premier League club with a reputation for coming up short in the big moments. Premier League and some Spurs fans alike have gone as far as to label a choke job as “Spursy.” I’m sure the irony isn’t lost on Falcons fans.

The Falcons last played in London in 2014, a game that concluded with a Detroit Lions game winning field goal after being saved by a delay of game penalty.