As a part of its international development plan, NFL will play three regular season games at the Wembley Stadium in London next season.
This is the first time that regular NFL matches are being played in the UK. Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders will all play one of their home games in London. The opponents and dates will be announced later.
"Our fans in the UK have continued to demonstrate that they love football and want more. Both of this year's games in London sold out quickly. The fan enthusiasm for our sport continues to grow. By playing two games in the UK this year, we are creating more fans. We hope that with three games in London next year we will attract even more people to our game," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
UK currently has an NFL fan base of around 12 million. Last month's exhibition game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley saw a crowd of 83,518. The Jaguars have already committed to play one game in the UK every season from 2013 to 2016.
"The experience the Jaguars have had already in London has been every bit what we anticipated and more, and this is all before we've even played our first game in Wembley Stadium. We made the right decision to commit to playing a home game in London each season through 2016," said Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
"The Jaguars have a broader worldwide fan base today and the anticipation for our London game later this month is shared by our loyal fans in Jacksonville, so it's a perfect scenario for everyone. The energy and appetite for the NFL in the UK is incredible. The Raiders and Falcons will see for themselves next season," added Khan, who also owns the English Premier League football team Fulham, based in London.
Atlanta and Oakland will be playing regular season games outside US for the first time. Both the team owners suggested that they are excited to get this opportunity and will try and make it as entertaining to the fans as possible.
