NFL eyes London franchise 26/10/2009 |
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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell plans to stage multiple games in Britain, a move which could pave the way for a franchise based in London.
Wembley will stage its third NFL regular season game on Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 'host' the New England Patriots.
Goodell is keen to expand the popularity of the sport and playing another game in Britain would fit in to that plan, while he has also spoken of the possibility of a franchise based in the country in the future.
Saying that the NFL has a great interest in Britain, Goodell believes that London is shaping up as a venue that could sustain an NFL franchise.
"The interest and the enthusiasm for our game continues to grow, and we want to feed that," Goodell said. "We want to respond to that by hopefully bringing more to the UK."
More games
"I expect that sometime in the next couple of years, we could be playing multiple games here.
"If we brought more than one game here, and it continues to have the same kind of enthusiasm and growth of interest, I think that is about as good of an indicator you can get that it could successfully support a franchise. And that's what we're looking at.
"We were worried when we first came here that it would be a novelty, but we've seen the interest grow.
"If the interest continues to grow, it's a very practical way to go to have a franchise here."
Goodell says that Manchester and Glasgow could join Wembley in hosting an NFL game in the net few years.
Kraft fan
Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a fan of bringing more games to London - and he also believes a franchise in Britain is on the horizon.
"I think it should happen," Kraft said. "I would be the right thing to do some time in the next decade to have a franchise here.
"We've had great success both here and in Germany and I look forward to seeing if that happens."
A major stumbling block over staging more games in the UK is that the designated home team has to give up a lucrative game at home in order to play in the UK.
Plans to expand the number of games during the season could provide a way to stage more games in the UK, as even backers of the plan like Kraft would not like to give up one of the eight home games they stage each season.
"I think if we expand our regular playing season and create more games, going from 16 to 18 games, it's a real possibility," Kraft said.
"Right now the Tampa Bay team has given up an away game to come here. I'm not sure our fans would appreciate us giving up a regular-season game. I know our fans wouldn't like us to do that."
(Source: skysports.com)
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