St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) to play NFL Academy in London

What was rumored is now coming into fruition: St. Thomas Aquinas is heading to London to play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

According to the Raiders’ official athletic department handle, the 16-time FHSAA state champion St. Thomas Aquinas will head across the Atlantic Ocean to face the United Kingdom-based NFL Academy on October 8, 2025 (Wednesday).

The Raiders are headed across the pond! Oct. 8. STA Football vs NFL Academy at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Global stage. Raider Nation is ready. Let’s bring home the W.

The NFL Academy’s headquarters in London is over at Loughborough University, with the other location for the elite football development campuses second located on the Gold Coast in Australia.

This continues the series of high school football programs from the Sunshine State traveling overseas to take on the NFL Academy, with the latest two schools being Edgewater and IMG Academy. Last year, the Fighting Eagles traveled from Orlando to the United Kingdom and won a wild 51-45 contest against the elite academy.

When it comes to playing some of the top high school football programs out of the United States, NFL Academy has sought out the best competition, with the academy facing the likes of such as Edgewater, Massillon (Ohio), De La Salle (Calif.), and IMG Academy. NFL Academy currently holds an overall record of 2-5 against American-based teams, but is undefeated against European opponents.

St. Thomas Aquinas continues to add to its already difficult slate of games for the 2025 season as the Raiders will kickoff the campaign at home on Aug. 23 against top-ranked Mater Dei (Calif.) in the Broward County Classic High School Football Showcase.

The Raiders were able to cap winning its 16th title in 2024 when they cruised to a dominating 34-0 victory over Lakeland for the Class 5A state championship. With another talented squad, the Raiders have set their sights on winning a 17th title and looking to pull off an unprecedented seventh straight crown.

Having to play programs like NFL Academy, Mater Dei, American Heritage, Chaminade-Madonna, Columbus and Monarch will only further battle test St. Thomas Aquinas on their quest for history come December.