London wants its own NFL team after sold out success of games at Wembley stadium

PLANS for an NFL franchise based at London’s Wembley Stadium will be explored in detail, according to American football’s senior British administrator.

Oakland Raiders' Matt McGloin passes the ball during the NFL football game against Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in London, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

PLANS for an NFL franchise based at London’s Wembley Stadium will be explored in detail, according to American football’s senior British administrator.

The sport has been growing in popularity in Britain, with 2014 the eighth successive year in which regular season NFL matches have been staged at England’s national stadium.

This season three games involving US-based NFL sides are being played at Wembley, with last month’s clash between the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins a sell out.

“Moving from one game to three games in a couple of years is a sign of real momentum and fan growth,” Alistair Kirkwood, managing director of NFL UK, told BBC Radio Five Live.

“We are going to have a look at seeing if we can grow from that over the next couple of years and see where we go from there.

“We’re very interested in exploring the idea of a British-based franchise and seeing if we can pull it off. That’s the way of making our sport much more mainstream.

Miami Dolphins' Damien Williams is tackled at Wembley.

“Fan growth has grown considerably in recent years. But we’ve seen in all forms of sport, having something that’s considered national transforms your potential popularity.”

But Kirkwood added: “It’s not just about the logistics of where a team might come from or whether it would be a new team, it’s also scheduling, air travel, a ton of other logistics.

“If we were to finish it off, it would be a big project realised.”

Securing an NFL franchise at Wembley would provide a lucrative source of income for the Football Association, which owns the north London stadium.

It could also lead to matches involving the England football team taken round the country again from 2018.

Brian Leonhardt celebrates a touchdown for Oakland at Wembley stadium.

Often criticised for its awkward location for fans travelling from other parts of the country, Wembley’s redevelopment saw England — much as the national cricket side do on an annual basis — take their international matches to different venues, with packed houses at Manchester’s Old Trafford, Newcastle’s St James’ Park, Southampton’s St Mary’s and Villa Park in Birmingham among others.

The FA has signed a deal to play all England games at Wembley until 2017 but there will be some flexibility when that agreement ends, although the majority of matches would still be held at the national stadium.

Last year, Wembley managing director Roger Maslin said he was confident the stadium could stage a whole season of eight NFL games.

“Football is our priority. But, yes, I’m absolutely confident that if the NFL wanted to have a franchise here then we could absolutely do it,” he said.