London Warriors bring together the best British football talent for a historic first AFLE season
British American football has been growing for decades. The players, the coaches, the culture have all developed quietly in the background, producing talent that has reached the NFL, the CFL, and the top clubs in European American football. In 2026, that talent has a new home. The London Warriors enter the American Football League Europe as the first British franchise in a top-level European competition, and they are doing it the right way: by bringing the best of what the UK has to offer onto one roster.
This is not a team built to make up the numbers. It is a team built to compete.
Kare Lyles gives the Warriors an experienced quarterback to build around
The London Warriors made history by signing Kare Lyles as the very first player in teams AFLE history. It was a statement of intent. Lyles is a seasoned American quarterback who knows what it takes to perform in this environment, and he gives the Warriors an experienced on-field leader from day one.
After his college career at Wisconsin, Scottsdale, Southern Illinois, and Jackson State, Lyles came to Europe in 2023 with the New Yorker Lions, then added stops with the Prague Lions and the Dresden Monarchs before returning to Braunschweig for a strong campaign. He threw 26 touchdown passes against just ten interceptions, added six rushing touchdowns, and showed the kind of consistent decision-making that a young franchise needs at the quarterback position.
Behind Lyles, the Warriors carry one of the most symbolic backup quarterbacks in European football. Dee Williams is a seven-time BritBowl champion with the London Warriors program and one of the most decorated players in British American football history. His experience, winning mentality, and deep connection to the club make him far more than just a backup. He is a leader, a voice in the locker room, and a constant reminder of what this organization stands for.
British homegrown talent powers the Warriors offense
The London Warriors offense is built on a foundation of British talent that has spent years developing at the highest levels of football on both sides of the Atlantic.
At running back, Andy Owusu is one of the most decorated players in the history of British football. He was named MVP of BritBowl XXXVI and earned BUCSsport American Football National Trophy MVP honors in 2019. His talent attracted back-to-back invitations to the NFL International Player Pathway Program in 2021 and 2022, and he was selected in the 2022 CFL Global Draft. He has also represented the Great Britain Lions at international level. Owusu is not just the best running back on this roster. He is one of the best British players in European American football, full stop.
The offensive line is built around two players with very different but equally impressive stories. James Faminu started his athletic career as a rugby player in London before switching to American football with the London Blitz. His talent was so clear that he earned a move to the United States, where he was rated a two-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports and ranked as the number 243 offensive tackle in the country. He played at the University of Houston, Temple, and UNLV before returning to the city where it all started. Now, back in London, Faminu is exactly the kind of story this franchise was built to tell.
Alongside him, Christophe Atkinson arrives as arguably the most accomplished offensive lineman in the entire AFLE. After five seasons and 38 starts at Ohio University, he went on to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL and the St. Louis Battlehawks in the UFL. In Europe with the Potsdam Royals, he earned First Team All-GFL honors and won the Pancake Trophy twice as the offensive lineman with the most knockdowns in the league. He is exactly the kind of professional anchor that a first-year offensive line needs.
A homegrown defensive core with champions and comeback stories
The most powerful story on the Warriors defensive roster belongs to Tigie Sankoh, and it starts a long way from London.
Sankoh was born in Sierra Leone and moved to England at the age of 15. He searched online for a local football team, found the Kent Exiles, and eventually made his way to the London Warriors in 2017 with the help of NFL UK head of football development Aden Durde. From there, his rise was extraordinary. He trained at IMG Academy in Florida through the NFL International Player Pathway Program, was assigned to the Cleveland Browns, and was then selected third overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2021 CFL Global Draft. He appeared in 18 regular season games and was part of the Argonauts organization when they won the 109th Grey Cup in 2022.
Now Sankoh returns to the London Warriors, the club that gave him his first chance in organized football. For a franchise playing its first ever season in a European professional league, there is no more fitting homecoming.
At linebacker, the Warriors have assembled a group with an impressive winning record. David Izinyon is a British veteran who played professionally with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL before returning to Europe with the Berlin Thunder and the Rostock Griffins. Kadel King brings something equally valuable: he is a three-time European champion, having won titles in the German Football League, the Maple League, and the European League of Football. That combination of professional experience and a habit of winning is exactly what a first-year franchise needs in the middle of its defense.
On the defensive line, American import Jamar Sekona arrives with a pedigree that is hard to ignore. He was a PrepStar All-American coming out of high school, recorded more than 150 tackles and 21 sacks across his prep career, and played four seasons at USC before finishing at the University of Hawaii. Football is clearly in his blood. His uncle is former NFL defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, a Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens and one of the most dominant players of his era.
A coaching staff with roots in British football and a global track record
The London Warriors are led by Tony Allen, one of the most important figures in the entire history of British American football. With more than 35 years of coaching and player development experience, Allen has guided the Warriors program to multiple BritBowl championships and national titles across youth, men’s, and women’s football. He made history as the founding head coach of the NFL Academy in London, the first of its kind in Europe, and served as a Director of International Player Development at NFL International. His work has shaped a generation of British football players and coaches. Now, for the first time, he leads the Warriors into a professional European league.
Defensive coordinator Richard Kent arrives with one of the most impressive coaching resumes in European football history. In more than 40 years of coaching, he has worked at Clemson University, won a Grey Cup championship in the CFL, and claimed four World Bowls as defensive coordinator and secondary coach in NFL Europe. Most recently he spent three seasons with Rhein Fire, winning back-to-back championships as defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach. He is one of the most significant appointments the Warriors organization has ever made.
Offensive coordinator Jerome Allen brings four years of experience from the NFL Academy in London, where he worked as both offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. He currently serves as quarterback coach for the British men’s national team, giving him a uniquely deep understanding of the homegrown talent on this roster and what those players need to succeed.
Why the London Warriors are more than just a first-year team
The London Warriors are not starting from scratch. They are drawing on decades of work, development, and ambition that British American football has built quietly and consistently. The players on this roster have won CFL championships, played in the NFL International Player Pathway Program, and competed across some of the best football leagues in the world. Some of them have retired and come back specifically for this moment.
They have a quarterback in Kare Lyles who has performed at a high level in European football. They have a running back in Andy Owusu who is among the best British players in the game. They have defenders like Tigie Sankoh and Kadel King who have won at the professional level. And they have coaches in Tony Allen and Richard Kent who have been building and winning for a combined total of more than 75 years.
This is British football stepping onto the biggest European stage it has ever had. And the Warriors look ready for it.
