I want the NFL to bring the game to Scotland - and my former side should be first team to play here

Scotland is being tipped to be the next country to host a regular-season NFL clash, with its “rowdy and passionate” fans viewed as the ideal force to ignite the league’s global ambitions.

Beginning last month in Melbourne, Australia, the NFL has expanded its regular-season international series to a record nine games across four continents, seven countries, and eight stadiums for the 2026 season, and several prominent figures have called on the league to consider bringing the game to Scotland in future campaigns.

Blown away by the atmosphere of Scottish fans at this summer’s World Cup in North America, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft reached out to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to pitch a future Patriots game on Scottish soil, while former Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar claimed he would lobby to host an American football game in Scotland back in February.

Former Minnesota Vikings star Jake Reed was in Scotland earlier this week. | Getty Images

And after spending the last few days in Edinburgh as part of the Minnesota Vikings’ NFL Flag Football Clinic, former wide receiver Jake Reed agrees that Scotland should be the next country to host a regular NFL season game. However, the 59-year-old says his former team need to be the first to play on Scottish soil if the league do decide to bring American football to Scotland in the coming seasons.

“I am surprised by the level of fandom in Scotland but also not surprised,” said Reed. “Because when you see the work that the NFL and Minnesota Vikings are putting in, I think in the next five to 10 years, it can be all over the place. As long as they continue to play abroad. They play in London, Brazil, and I’d hope they play a game in Scotland. It’s only going to broaden the interests of everybody. I’m just happy that so many countries are enjoying it.”

Reed was working alongside his former side to bring American football to local primary school children in Scotland earlier this week, with local children taking part in an afternoon of flag football activities, coaching and skills sessions across Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed. It follows on from last year’s two-day visit to the capital by the Vikings, where two-time Super Bowl winner Keenan McCardell met fans and shared in local traditions in order to celebrate the club’s “shared historical ties” with Scotland.

“It’s a great sport,” said Reed. “That’s one of the reasons the NFL are trying to broaden the fanbase. Some of the questions I’m getting from the kids here in Scotland are amazing. Some of them know nothing about the NFL. Kids back home in America are being taught it early, they already know football. But with younger people over here, it is like a blank canvas and they really retain everything they’re learning.

Former Minnesota Vikings star Reed was teaching NFL to children in Scotland earlier this week. | Cameron Allan Photography Ltd

“Scotland were rowdy. They brought the passion and the energy to America at the World Cup in the summer. You guys call it football, we call it soccer, but you’re very passionate about it. And I’d love if we can reflect that in the NFL over here. I’d love if the Minnesota Vikings were the first to team to play in Scotland. The Vikings had been putting in the work at grassroots level over here, building things in Scotland.

“Hopefully we can make it global. Like basketball. They have global superstars. They have players from all over the world playing in the NBA and that’s the type of reach the NFL want to get. I see Scottish people playing rugby over here, I see the tackles they put in without any uniform, and I think they can bring that talent to the league and become an American football player, if they want too. I’d like to see that.”