Warriors

The London Warriors know the London Blitz on sight before any fixture list confirms it. That rivalry took shape as the Warriors climbed from nothing: the club began in 2005 as a youth setup, put out a senior side two years later under the name London Cobras, and only became the Warriors once that team pushed into the top division. Promotion came fast — Division Two in 2008, Division One the year after — and by the 2010s the Warriors were the team the Blitz had to get past.

Seven Britbowl titles now sit with the club, won in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2024. Cherry Red Records Stadium in Kingston became their ground only in 2026, after nearly two decades based in Thornton Heath; the move followed the club's entry into the American Football League Europe.

The academy behind that success has sent players into the NFL, and none further than Efe Obada, who came through the Warriors' pathway and became the first International Player Pathway participant to make an NFL 53-man roster, going on to play for the Carolina Panthers, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders. Coaches have followed players out of the club the same way — Aden Durde left a role as the Warriors' defensive coordinator to take the same job with the Seattle Seahawks. Fewer people know that television presenter Vernon Kay once turned out for the Warriors himself.