The NFL
confirmed earlier this week that three games will be played at London's Wembley Stadium for the first time ever in 2014. This landmark announcement comes a year after the league upped the number of International Series games to two, and see's the Jacksonville Jaguars (who starting from this October are playing one game here through 2016), Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders grace these shores as the designated home teams. The opponents have yet to be announced, with confirmation likely coming later on this season. Late last month the Minnesota Vikings registered their first victory of 2013 by overcoming the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-27 in an enthralling match-up, a game that was almost unanimously dubbed the best we've seen since regular season games began back in 2007. I wrote in an earlier article that while an NFL franchise on these shores is still not guaranteed to happen, this once again reaffirms the NFL's commitment to American Football on this side of the pond. Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed all at Tuesday's league meeting stating: "Our fans in the UK have continued to demonstrate that they love football and want more." In many respects he has been at the forefront of attempts to permanently relocate a team to the UK. He added: "Both of this year's games in London sold out quickly. The fan enthusiasm for our sport continues to grow. By playing two games in the UK this year, we are creating more fans. We hope that with three games in London next year we will attract even more people to our game." The Falcons and Raiders have never played a game over here, though strictly speaking the latter have, albeit it was a pre-season exhibition game held back in 1990. Television ratings in this country continue to rise with weekly double headers showcased on Sky Sports, along with NFL Network's flagship show Thursday Night Football. This is in addition to Channel 4's coverage of Sunday Night Football and Eurosport's contract to show live ESPN Monday Night Football games. The increase in television coverage has coincided with a growing NFL fan base in this country. It is even rumoured there are as many as
12 million NFL fans in the UK, a substantial number. 83,500 fans turned out to see last month's game in the capital. While the Jaguars are currently winless at 0-5, and the Falcons (1-4) and Raiders (2-3) have been inconsistent at best, Wembley can still expect to see several of the league's star players playing over here next autumn, including Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, Darren McFadden and Justin Blackmon. The relationship between the league's offices in New York and NFL UK continues to prosper. Goodell make it clear all along that the number of games would rise to see how sustainable the idea would be in the long term, so this announcement should come as no surprise. Continued International growth abroad is high on the agenda, not just here but also worldwide and in mainland Europe. The two games here in 2013 - the second of which takes place in 19 days - sold out exceptionally fast. Don't be surprised if it happens again. The countdown is on, and all that remains is the scheduling arrangements and the announcement of the opposition. The likelihood is one game will be played around Week 4 at the end of September, the same time the Steelers-Vikings game this year was played. The second game is likely to be placed either early/mid October and the third will most probably be in late October/early November. The NFL is unlikely to stage a game later than that due to possible play-off implications. The market is growing here. So too is the league's confidence in giving the UK more. Are you ready?