Kansas City Chiefs' strategy to expand UK fandom: cultural connections and mascot diplomacy

LONDON (AP) — In an offseason huddle at the NFL’s London headquarters, the Kansas City Chiefs are drawing up a game plan to win over fans in a crowded UK market.

They’re getting input from the locals, and there’s good news.

"There is something about that younger generation, in the UK specifically, they are really into U.S. sports at the moment,” says Louise Johnson, chief executive of marketing agency Fuse. “There’s a moment in time that you can really capitalize on.”

Chiefs executives visited London after the team added the UK to its list of countries in the NFL’s global markets program, which puts teams in the driver’s seat to increase fandom overall — as well as land commercial partnerships individually.

A day that began meeting with local agencies in the NFL’s glass-enclosed eighth-floor office overlooking Leicester Square ended along the banks of the Thames, where a “Chiefs cab” was the meeting point to surprise a local fan with a ticket giveaway.

“The UK is another puzzle piece in the larger globalization of the brand,” said Lara Krug, the team’s chief media and marketing officer, echoing a franchise theme of becoming the “ world’s team.”

Krug led the team’s delegation that included business, social media and public relations representatives. Besides marketing agencies, they also met with NFL officials. The takeaways were clear for growing the Chiefs' fanbase.

“One, that 12-to-24 (aged) audience is where there is the biggest opportunity,” she told The Associated Press. ”(They’re) very much into the cultural part of the NFL and the Americana of it all.”

Second, find creative ways to connect to local fans. The Chicago Bears did soccer-style jerseys last year for their London game.

“The league and the clubs have done a great job on growing the game,” Krug said. “We see the opportunity of reaching more fans and doing it from a cultural lens.”

Expanding your fan base is much easier when your quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is the face of the league, and your star tight end, Travis Kelce, is dating global pop star Taylor Swift. Kelce was the UK’s top-selling NFL jersey in 2024.

The Chiefs have also played in five of the last six Super Bowls and won three of them.

Still, there are eight other NFL teams with the same rights the Chiefs have in Britain — and six of them have been there longer.

Social media content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram are crucial, especially because NFL fans in the UK over-index on daily social media use compared to other fans, the Chiefs said.

But some old-school methods work too.

Hello, KC Wolf.

“We know mascots do really well in the markets, it becomes an ambassador,” Krug said.

KC Wolf was on hand in Frankfurt, Germany in 2023 when the Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins 21-14.

They'll soon be looking for “multiple European-based mascots of our KC Wolf,” Krug said.

“That will be something that we launch later this year," she said, "so having KC Wolf show up in a few of our markets more frequently.”

Meetings aside, being on the ground in London was helpful in other ways: Krug noted the long line at a Formula One promotion in the Lego store in Leicester Square.

The Chiefs have experimented before. Last year the team partnered with Hallmark — headquartered in Kansas City — on “ Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. ”

In the NFL’s global markets program, Kansas City has rights in seven countries — only the Los Angeles Rams have as many. All but one — Mexico — of the Chiefs’ markets are in Europe. The team added the UK, Ireland and Spain this year.

The team's brass believes the best way to gain fans in foreign markets is to play games there. The Chiefs won their only London game, back in 2015. They are 3-0 overall in regular-season international games.

Dublin, Madrid and Berlin are all new host cities this season.

The Chiefs will play internationally this season — but not in Europe. They open in Brazil on Sept. 5 when they face the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo.

That’s the first of seven international NFL games in 2025 — the most ever in one season — and Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to eventually get to 16 games per year. Goodell has also floated the idea of creating a European division and staging a Super Bowl outside the United States. One theory is the league will package the international games into a billion-dollar rights deal.

Team and league data show that the Chiefs are already popular internationally.

They have the largest overall German-language social media following at nearly 150,000. For consumer products sales, the Chiefs rank No. 1 in the “DACH” region of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and No. 2 in Mexico. In international Game Pass viewing, the Chiefs were the most-watched team in DACH and Mexico last season.

The Chiefs brought several British “influencers” to a game at Arrowhead Stadium last season. They included “ Formz,” a Tottenham fan who raps Premier League weekly recaps and sings about heartbreak; he has 1 million followers on TikTok.

The league saw “significant growth” in UK fandom last year, said Henry Hodgson, the NFL’s general manager for the UK and Ireland.

Confidence is high enough that three teams — the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers — applied for and were awarded UK rights starting this season, joining the six others already in the market.

“For now, we don’t want to cap it,” Hodgson told the AP. “We see the benefit of these teams being involved in the market. It’s something that the NFL will monitor, not just in the UK but in all the markets that the global markets program exists in and make sure that all of the clubs can be successful in all the markets they’re in.”

Eleven teams have rights in Germany. Mexico is next highest with 10.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

FILE - The Kansas City Chiefs mascot, KC Wolf, is seen, before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Singer Taylor Swift, front left, and Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce, front right, take in the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to pass during the NFL football team's practice Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs fan Thea Lawson is presented with tickets to a home game at Arrowhead Stadium by team representative and retired England rugby star Ugo Monye along the Queen's Walk, London, on May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ken Maguire)

FILE - Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas (13), right, celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the NFL football game between Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs at the Wembley Stadium in London, England, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)