Although the NFL's "efforts in London are still at the forefront," Germany "will soon be in consideration for a regular-season game," according to Albert Breer of NFL.com. Frankfurt and Dusseldorf "are the likeliest sites, with Berlin and Munich also under consideration." The "overriding issue in Germany," which is "developed as a football-watching public," remains TV distribution. The league is "moving to broaden its efforts internationally," and along with and likely preceding a push into Germany, the "next group of countries to zero in on" are Mexico, Canada and China. NFL Exec VP/Int'l Mark Waller said, "Those would be our next stage, and we have offices in those three countries. And then, after those, where should be our focus? I think we've concluded that Brazil and Germany are the next two frontier markets, which is where the Pro Bowl idea comes from." Breer reported the NFL "sent a team to Mexico City two weeks ago to visit stadiums in the area, and left knowing that work still needed to be done." But the league is "now starting to look at expanding the International Series to include regular-season games outside the U.K.," with '17 being a target. The league is "starting to look at options to bring some form of preseason football to Mexico in the short term." Waller said the NFL "absolutely" remains on track to reach its goal of having a team full-time in London by '22. Breer noted had it not been for the Rugby World Cup, the league "would've gone to four games in London this year, so it's a good bet that happens" in '16. The NFL "has a base of 40,000 fans who bought tickets for all three games for this year," with the vast majority of those fans "local to London." That "represents the formation of a potential season-ticket base" to the league. But London is "only part of the equation now." Breer: "The easiest way to look at this -- the NFL is comfortable enough with its growth in the U.K. to start similar projects elsewhere" (NFL.com, 3/26).
