Sadiq Khan's journey to becoming one of the most powerful men in the land as mayor of London has been an uplifting and extraordinary one in the recent political life of Great Britain.
One of a family of eight children born to Pakistani immigrants -- a bus driver and a seamstress -- Khan has risen from the humble background of a South London council estate to run the multibillion-pound fortunes of one of the world's major cities.
Last year, the 46-year-old Labour Party politician, who has been widely tipped to one day become the leader of his party and a possible future British prime minister, was elected as the first Muslim mayor of a major western city.
The London mayoral job is a relatively new one, with Khan only the third holder of the position since its creation in 2000, but it has grown dramatically in importance and prestige with the mayor controlling a £17 billion budget and, among many other responsibilities, the city's housing, planning and transport policies.
Sport has always played a significant role for this former keen amateur boxer, soccer player and cricketer -- he once had trials for Surrey county cricket club -- and Khan has constantly emphasised the importance of sport to a city whose economy has been demonstrated to have benefitted by more than £1.6 billion from staging major events since the 2012 Olympics.
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN.com, Khan discussed his own sporting life and why he believes London, as it embraces the U.S. leagues in particular, will rule the sports world under his watch.
Khan on why sport is so important to him and his city: "I've always loved sport. As a family, we've always played and watched. I was a keen cricketer, footballer and boxer, and it's been an important part of my life. Playing sport brings you a huge amount of enjoyment. It teaches you life skills -- how to be magnanimous in victory, dignified in defeat, how you work in a team. I ran in the London Marathon, the best marathon in the world, in 2014 and got fit, lost weight, improved stress level and ran in the same race as Mo Farah. Er, he was three hours ahead of me but we were on the same road at least. And that's the great thing about sport. It enriches our lives. It nourishes our lives, which is why I'm so passionate about making London the sporting capital of the world."
On London's Olympic 2012 legacy: "It was squandered. I feel really strongly about this. We can't be seen just to be a place where we see the world's best, the elite, doing sports. We've also got to encourage grassroots participation in sport, young and old. We're involved in lots of projects across the city helping grassroots clubs, giving them the support they need."
On his sporting heroes, past and present: "Muhammad Ali was my childhood hero, an amazing sportsman but also a thoroughly decent human being. I was really upset when he passed away last year. Mo Farah is the sportsman I most admire today. He encapsulates the best of London, someone who came here as a refugee and worked his socks off to fulfil his potential. The most successful British sportsman we've ever had, also a proud Londoner, somebody of Islamic faith and someone who gives a lot to other communities in London."
On his dream of London being the world's sports capital: "My view is that we probably are the sporting capital of the world. I want to make sure we definitely are the sporting capital of the world. In 2017, we've already had an NBA basketball game at The O2 Arena. We have, as normal, Wimbledon and the men's ATP finals. We have the largest number of NFL games in London ever at Twickenham and Wembley, we're hosting the women's cycling tour and the biggest heavyweight boxing bout probably in most people's lifetimes -- Anthony Joshua versus Wladimir Klitschko -- in front of 90,000 at Wembley, the biggest turnout for a boxing bout since 1939. There's the Champions Trophy final in cricket at the [Kia] Oval, the Women's World Cup final at Lord's and the two big ones, the world athletics and world para-athletics championships."
On the prospects of a London NFL franchise: "I'm optimistic that we'll have eight NFL games a season in London before 2020 and about having a permanent franchise in the near future. There are a couple of teams interested, and we have the stadiums to do it. Not just Wembley and Twickenham, but Tottenham and Chelsea stadiums are being redeveloped."
On why having an NFL franchise would be better than eight games featuring 16 different teams: "I think the advantages of having a permanent franchise outweighs the downsides. You can't beat having a sense of loyalty to a team. As a long-suffering Liverpool fan with a South London accent, I can't change my team. [Khan started supporting Liverpool in the 1980s because he saw so much of them on the television after he stopped going to games because of racial abuse he suffered on the terraces.] Supporting a team brings its own joys. Don't underestimate the importance of loyalty and passion there will be to a team if they decide to have a permanent presence in London. The Jags, for example -- the Jacksonville Jaguars -- have a big following here. Why? Because they play here almost every year."
On whether an NFL London team would have one home or several: "It depends on when these redeveloped stadiums [such as Tottenham and Chelsea] that are being redeveloped are done and on how soon the NFL want to move. Rotating matches provides advantages, but having one permanent presence has lots of upsides."
On why U.S. sport needs London -- and vice versa: "If you're a Londoner, a Briton or a European and you want to watch a live NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball game, you've got to jump on a plane, get to the nearest place on the U.S. East Coast, and it's not cheap. I think it's really important for us to make big American sports accessible and easy for us to watch live. What I want is that if you're a baseball or American football fan in Britain or Europe and you can't afford to go to America to watch a game, come to London."
On the possibility of bringing the Super Bowl to London: "My ultimate dream is to get the Super Bowl here in London -- wouldn't that be great? Is it a realistic aim? Why not? [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell experienced the Rams-Giants game in the first match we've had at Twickenham, a great occasion and an amazing game. I'm excited to make it happen. When it comes to big sports events like boxing in London when we try to get an American audience, we often move the time until later into the night to make it work. In the Olympics, we made sure the prime sporting events took place later in the night that would help viewing figures across the world."
On bringing Major League Baseball to London: "I had a really good meeting with the MLB commissioner, and the issue is 'when' it comes and what's the right stadium for it. The Oval and Lord's [cricket grounds], I'm told, aren't the right size for a baseball game, but the London Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium, is a potential venue. The soonest it could probably happen is 2019. I'm keen to make it happen, and our team is in discussion with the MLB team to make it happen. If we could have just one fixture, I think it would spark an interest in those who aren't currently baseball fans. What's clear to me from the bleary eyes I see of colleagues who've watched late-night games on TV the previous night is there are lots of fans here who love MLB."
On being asked to throw a ceremonial pitch at a New York Mets game: "I was nervous because you can end up with egg on your face. Watch 50 Cent on YouTube throwing a pitch at a Mets game -- not cool. I was nervous, but I didn't let London down!"
On how he broke the Cubs' World Series jinx: "I went to Chicago last year on a mayoral visit and made the mistake of teasing the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, that they hadn't won a Word Series for 108 years. Lo and behold, they won. I'm taking credit for that!"
On the prospects of London staging the Commonwealth Games: "I'm disappointed that Durban have pulled out of hosting the 2022 Games because it would have been great for an African city to have staged them for the first time. I understand the Games organisers have been in touch with some of my team and with Birmingham and Manchester, but the key thing for me is to make sure we could make it work financially. I can see the benefits of having a Commonwealth Games in London at a future date, but as far as 2022 is concerned it is not on our radar."
On why London will stage the Tour de France again: "I was really disappointed when last year the previous mayor [Boris Johnson], after marching the Tour de France people up the hill, bidding for the Grand Depart and getting it, chose to pull out at the 11th hour, which meant organisers had to make other arrangements for this year's event. I've analysed the benefits for London for having the Tour here -- it was here in 2007 -- and it was a huge success. The good news is that I've met with the Tour de France organisers; there's no bridges burned, no grudges held by them. I want the Tour to come here sooner rather than later."
On his American football experience in London: "The great thing about the American football games I've watched in London is the mix of the crowd -- men, women, older, younger, all ethnicities, all socio-economic backgrounds, accents from different regions and nations. It's a great day out."
On the event he's most looking forward to in London's sporting year: "Being a former boxer, it's the Klitschko-Joshua fight. I want the world to recognise that one of the great things about London is that we're a welcoming place that invites talent, a place where you'll have a great experience whether you've won or lost. So I hope Wladimir Klitschko has a great experience of London. Even though Anthony Joshua is going to beat him!"
