The NFL "continued to build its global brand on Friday" when Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Mexico will host a game next season and "dangled a carrot to British fans saying a team in London was a realistic possibility," according to Steve Keating of REUTERS.
The NFL will play three regular season games in London next season and Goodell said that "he expects that number to rise in the future as the league continues to build a solid British fan base." NFL owners "voted last October to extend the league's commitment to play international regular-season games through 2025," including the option to play outside the U.K. beginning with the '16 season. Goodell:
"Every time we give our U.K. fans, and I think this is true on a global basis, an opportunity to engage in football they want more. ... I believe in the future we will see more games in the U.K. As for a franchise, let's continue to grow, lets continue to see that excitement, enthusiasm, passion and support continue to develop. If it does I think it is a realistic possibility."
Building on the success of its int'l series of regular-season games in London, the NFL "will return to Mexico for the first time since 2005 when the Oakland Raiders play the Houston Texans on Nov. 21 at Azteca Stadium" in the first Monday Night Football game to be staged outside of the U.S.
Goodell: "We are coming back to Mexico next season. We're very excited about being back, we have a tremendous following down in Mexico." The NFL also confirmed on Friday that "the league was seriously looking at taking the Pro Bowl to Australia and marked out a small number of markets as priorities including Canada, Britain, China, Brazil and Germany" (REUTERS, 2/5).
