College Football Will Play Games at London's Wembley Stadium, 2026 Matchup, Date Revealed

College football is following the NFL to London.

According to The Athletic's Eduardo Tansley, the sport will have games at the United Kingdom's Wembley Stadium for the next three years, with an option for a fourth year.

Arizona State and Kansas will start things off this season on Sept. 19, while the future matchups are yet to be determined.

The new series will be called the Union Jack Classic. This year's game will be the first time a college football matchup has been staged in England since 1988.

"We're very confident (of selling out Wembley)," Union Jack Classic co-founder and COO Thomas Henesy told Tansley. "I will say this with humility, we're going to have to earn every ticket buyer. ... Everyone should go to an NFL game if they can. It's the best athletes of the best athletes, but all of them came from one of these universities."

"As American football grows and the NFL continues to invest millions, if not billions abroad, and play games in Europe, we felt the timing was right (for a game in London)," Union Jack Classic CEO Brian Dubiski added. "We want to do the game the right way and grow the sport."

The first Union Jack Classic won't exactly be a clash of titans, however. While Arizona State reached the College Football Playoff in the 2024 season, they were 8-5 last year. Kansas has gone 5-7 in consecutive seasons.

College football has been played sporadically in the Republic of Ireland over the years, with Dublin's Aviva Stadium hosting a game in each of the past four seasons as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. But now England is back in the college football business as well.