NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has spoken at great lengths the past few years about truing the league into a global powerhouse.
The NFL has held games in London and Mexico City and Goodell has also mentioned how he wishes he could bring American football to the Olympics as a competitive sport.
The global growth of the game took another step on Wednesday, as the NFL announced on its website that the league will stage a second London game for the 2013 season between the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium.
The Vikings will play as the home team and join the already scheduled game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers for the 2013 season.
"This is a very significant and important step for our fans in the UK and our teams in general," commissioner Roger Goodell said to the Associated Press. "It comes back to believing in the fans in the UK and in London. We wanted to deliver two games to our fans in London."
The Jaguars have already agreed to a deal with the NFL to play four games in London over the next four seasons. The 49ers game is set for Oct. 27, 2013.
"We think Jaguars-49ers is a matchup our fans will really enjoy and a great way to start a new era in the international development of our game," Goodell said.
The league has tried to grow the game in London and England specifically, with the hopes that one day an NFL franchise could make its home there for good.
The NFL has played one regular-season game overseas in London since 2007, when the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants played as the home team against the Miami Dolphins. The Giants won that rain soaked game 13-10. This will be the first time that two games are being played in London during the same season.
"If we could do it (play games) in the UK there is no reason not to do it in Europe or Latin America," NFL chief marketing officer Mark Waller said. "It's an experiment if we can make it work, there are many other markets we can build the footprint."
The 49ers are no strangers to London, having played against the Denver Broncos in 2010. This season the New England Patriots will play the St. Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28.
According to ESPN.com, the Vikings have played in London before---in 1983 for a preseason game.
"This is an opportunity to grow our brand and to grow the game of football internationally," Vikings president Mark Wilf said. "We have fans throughout the world. It will give excellent and exceptional exposure for the team."
The Steelers once played an exhibition game in Dublin, Ireland and have also played in Toronto against the Buffalo Bills four years ago.
"We'll be able to play in front of Steelers fans in Europe," said Steelers president Art Rooney. "It's the first opportunity we've had."
While many critics feel that expanding internationally is a waste of time and money, the growth of the NFL over the past ten years has only given credence to Goodell's aspirations. As more international fans come to the game and the Internet grows more and more powerful, the NFL's reach will only expand.
In August Goodell spoke about the international demand for the game of football and the possibility of adding it to the Olympics.
"Absolutely. We're already taking steps to gain that IOC recognition. We have, I think, 64 countries that are playing American football now, and that's one of the requirements. That's been growing dramatically - I think it was 40 just five years ago," Goodell said to ProFootballTalk.com.
"Our point is just to keep growing the game," Goodell said. "We're having a tremendous reaction in London and the UK for the game of football, our regular season game over there is sold out again this year, we are seriously contemplating as early as 2013 playing two NFL games next season and I think we'll do that. It's a response to the tremendous fan reaction and the growth of the game. If we can continue to grow the game there and have the fan reaction that we have, there very well may be a franchise in London."
A London franchise might be a bit too unrealistic, but ten years from now it could be a legitimate option for expansion.
