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The NFL has confirmed that the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants have been selected to play in a regular-season game in London in 2007.
The historic contest will be played at the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium on October 28. Commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement at his first Super Bowl news conference.
New Dolphins coach Cam Cameron and Giants quarterback Eli Manning, the younger brother of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, will be among those in attendance at Friday afternoon's NFL International news conference.
NFL owners voted last October to play up to two games outside the United States every year for the next five years, with just one game to be played in 2007.
The NFL staged its first regular-season game outside the United States in 2005 when 103,467 people saw the Arizona Cardinals play the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City - the largest crowd for a regular-season game in NFL history.
NFL Europa failed to take root in Britain, where the London Monarchs and Scottish Claymores eventually folded.
However, Goodell said there is still a huge NFL fan base in Britain, with many of the league's supporters having watched the game when American football was broadcast on terrestrial television in the 1980s.
Another reason for the game being popular in Britain was that fans were able to watch the-then defending Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and players like Walter Payton and William "The Refrigerator" Perry perform at Wembley in a pre-season game against the Dallas Cowboys in 1986.
"The international popularity of the NFL grows every year," said Goodell in making the announcement.
"That interest will be seen as the far corners of the world watch Super Bowl this Sunday. That is a fascination we will build upon. London and its international stature adds to the impact of the game."
In the Dolphins and the Giants, the NFL is sending two of its most famous teams across the Atlanta.
In 1972, Miami became the only team in history post an undefeated season en route to winning Super Bowl VII, a title they defended a year later.
The Giants won Super Bowl titles in the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
"The Dolphins are proud to be a part of such a historic occasion," said Miami owner Wayne Huizenga.
"We were one of the first NFL teams to play in the United Kingdom with our American Bowl appearance in London in 1988. Dolphins games always have been among the most popular NFL telecasts in England.
"We have a great following there, including fan clubs throughout the country. We look forward to playing in front of our overseas fans, as well as our US supporters who will make the trip overseas."
Giants president and CEO John Mara added: "We are looking forward to bringing our team to London, which has long been a centre of attention and enthusiasm for the NFL overseas dating back to the league's first game there in 1983.
"Playing in London in late October means our fans there will see a mid-season contest. It will signal the beginning of the second half of the season when teams begin their playoff run."
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone welcomed the announcement.
"We are very pleased about having teams of the calibre of the Dolphins and Giants coming to London," he said.
"We are looking forward to giving them a memorable experience. We are expecting nearly 10,000 American fans to travel to London to watch the game as well as people from Europe.
"There will be many millions of TV viewers in the United States alone, so it will be a great opportunity to showcase London to new visitors and for people to see the way we uniquely enjoy our sport.
"After London's success in winning the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, our aim has been to bring to Londoners the best of all sports. The Tour de France, which will start in London later this year, and now the NFL is a great step towards this."
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Source: Sporting Life |
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