The NFL on Thursday announced that the San Francisco 49ers will be the Jacksonville Jaguars' opponent in the '13 regular-season game at Wembley Stadium. The game, scheduled for Oct. 27, will mark the 49ers' second appearance in the NFL Int'l Series. The team in '10 won a 24-16 game against the Broncos before a Wembley crowd of 83,941 (NFL). Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan said, "This is a unique and important opportunity for the Jaguars franchise, as well as for our fans and community. To share this stage in our first year at Wembley with a rising power like the 49ers will bring additional attention and respect to what we're trying to achieve as a franchise. We can't wait to see our global vision for the Jaguars become reality next season" (London DAILY MAIL, 10/11). In New York, Brian Solomon wrote "For Khan, the match-up with the 49ers represents his first chance to fulfill his mission of bringing Jacksonville to the rest of the world." Recently in a Forbes cover story, he expressed excitement about the chance to win over NFL fans in London. Khan: “One of the good things is they don’t have a team loyalty, so we get a chance by being the first team presented; hopefully we can get them” (FORBES, 10/11).
MORE EXPANSION?: The NFL said that "other teams could take games to continental Europe or Latin America if the Jaguars made a success of their foray across the Atlantic." NFL CMO Mark Waller said, "We want to prove that fans here can become fans of a specific team." Waller, a U.K. native, added, "If we can make this work here, there are many other markets." REUTERS' Keith Weir noted European football clubs have "made themselves more attractive to sponsors by building a global fanbase who follow their matches on television and online." Khan: "The Premier League has led the way in terms of globalization. Perhaps we can learn some lessons from them about how to spread the love for the NFL" (REUTERS, 10/11).
