NFL FANS IN the UK will have at least one regular season match-up on their doorstep for the next five years after team owners rubberstamped a proposal to extend the International Series until 2016.
Last night’s vote in Heuston allows the league to continue hosting at least one game outside America each season, with the possibility of adding more matches if there enough demand among foreign fans.
The proposal also offers teams the chance to play as the UK’s “home team” once a season for the next five years, giving them an opportunity to build up a lucrative international fanbase.
On 23 October, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears play in Wembley Stadium, the fifth match to be played in London since the launch of the British experiment in 2007.
“The response to NFL games being played in the UK continues to be exceptional,” the league’s commissioner Roger Goodell said yesterday.
Because of the outstanding support of our British fans, we are confident that hosting additional games in the UK will be well received and support our goal of bringing football to more fans in the UK and beyond.
