The NFL continues to intensify its commitment to playing in London, announcing Friday that it will hold four games there in the 2017 season.
That will be the most London games ever for the league in a season, and it represents half of what the regular season home schedule would be if the NFL ever bases a franchise there.
“We continue to be incredibly excited by the passion and love for the NFL shown by our millions of UK fans,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a written statement. “London is an amazing city. We have had tremendous support from our fans, from Mayor [Sadiq] Khan and other government leaders and business partners, and we are looking forward to taking the next step in the UK by playing four games in London next season.”
The NFL played three games in London this season, plus one game in Mexico City. League officials have left open the possibility of eventually placing a team in London, while acknowledging that there would be competitive matters and issues of logistics to address. Such a move would have to be ratified by the owners of the 32 teams.
The league said it will announce the particulars of next season’s London games, including participating teams and venues, on Tuesday.
“London is the international home of the NFL and staging the equivalent of what would be half an American football team’s home games in the city is a huge step towards my ambition of bringing a franchise to the capital,” Khan said in a written statement.
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(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Mark Maske
