College football’s highly anticipated return to London was not without a few missteps by local bootleg apparel merchants. As spotted by several eagle-eyed fans approaching the Kansas-Arizona State Big 12 game at Wembley Stadium, maroon-and-gold Sun Devils gear being sold outside the venue lacked one very key word.’Wanted to buy a matchday scarf at Wembley,’ Master Tesfatsion, a podcaster and journalist with The S Word, wrote on X. ‘They all say “Arizona” not “Arizona State.”‘The distinction would be obvious to college football-loving Americans or anyone possessing a familiarity with the Grand Canyon State. Arizona State University is near Phoenix in the town of Tempe, while the rival University of Arizona is an entirely different school based in Tucson. The two institutions also have drastically different color schemes: maroon and gold for ASU, red and blue for Arizona. Of course, such mistakes are bound to happen when the UK’s unlicensed merchandise industry is up against the confusing naming constructs of American colleges. Ahead of the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic – a similar event aimed at attracting fans to Dublin – one Irish pub was seen displaying the state flag of Kansas, rather than the Kansas State flag.As for scarf sales, ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student Joaquin Rodriguez was told by one vendor that ‘slightly more Arizona State scarves have been sold than Kansas scarves’ before kickoff. As spotted by several eagle-eyed fans approaching the Kansas-Arizona State Big 12 matchup from Wembley Stadium, team apparel outside the venue was lacking one very key word And it wasn’t a single stall, but several that were selling ‘Arizona’ gear in Sun Devils colors But as a few Sun Devils fans were quick to point out, vendors ‘could have sold many more if they actually said Arizona State instead of just Arizona.’The Big 12 Conference matchup is an important one on the field — both teams want to avoid back-to-back losses — but the trip also offers a chance for players to experience a European capital and be ambassadors for their sport.’I know I haven’t done anything like this before,’ ASU defensive lineman C.J. Fite said this week. ‘To be able to leave a country, play football in front of new fans … and kind of figure out this new culture and be able to experience it, it’s a No. 1 thing for sure.’Thursday was a big sightseeing day for both teams.The game organizers had arranged for boat trips on the Thames. Plus, they set up tables full of Shake Shack UK food for the players. A fan poses for a photograph prior to the First Annual Union Jack Classic in London General view inside the stadium prior to the First Annual Union Jack ClassicOn the boat tours, players snapped photos of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster. A popular spot was Tower Bridge, where players strolled on the glass walkway that looks down on the bridge deck and the Thames.’This is a lifetime opportunity for our players, for our program and, again, I can’t tell you how excited we are to be here and be part of this,’ Kansas coach Lance Leipold said this week.His counterpart, Kenny Dillingham, was asked if he had anything fun planned outside of football.’Absolutely not,’ he responded. ‘We’re playing a football game.’Dillingham added there is ‘zero positive’ from a football perspective in playing a Week 3 game internationally but, in the bigger picture, noted the once-in-a-lifetime experience for players.Indeed, ASU offensive lineman Jalen Klemm said it will be exciting ‘to play in front of a different country and a different culture that doesn’t experience football and college football as often as obviously we do in America. So I think it’s a great opportunity for us to just go out there and play our game and kind of show what Sun Devils football is about.’ Arizona State Sun Devils fans on Wembley Way ahead of the Union Jack Classic College Pitchforks were out among Sun Devils fans visiting London for the first Union Jack Classic Organizers have a three-year contract with Wembley for an annual game with an option for a fourth year.Brian Dubiski, CEO of the Union Jack Classic and a former Texas Tech player, recently told The Associated Press that they’re in talks about airline and hospitality partnerships but might not have a title sponsor until next year.Wembley holds more than 86,000, but Dubiski is hoping for 60,000. An estimated 15,000 fans are coming from the US. Organizers added discounts on ticket four-packs and donated some to a UK organization that provides tickets to hospital workers.’Would we like 80,000 people in the seats? Absolutely. But anything over 40-to-50,000 is a viable business model,’ Dubiski said.Saturday’s matchup will be the first Football Bowl Subdivision game in the UK Back in 1988 — almost two years before Dillingham was born — the University of Richmond beat Boston University 20-17 at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in south London. The teams played in Division 1-AA, which is now called the Football Championship Subdivision.That one was billed as the Imperial Bowl. Attendance estimates varied, but 6,000 was the highest of them. A game program available on eBay shows the adult ticket price was 6 pounds.