The Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday that the NFL’s plans to bring the Super Bowl to the United Kingdom were in full effect.
The Mayor of London’s office and Visit London, the city’s official tourism organization, announced that the NFL intends to bring the Super Bowl to the city in 2014. The decision comes after two sold-out games at Wembley Stadium this past season. The city has been in talks with the NFL’s special events team, who have been looking for host cities outside of the United States; their search has included Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
London will reportedly reveal its plan for the Super Bowl in November, when the bid packages are due to the NFL.
London is looking for 2014 to host the legendary American sporting event, which is continually the highest-rated program on television every year, with at least 80 million viewers. The rights to the 2013 Super Bowl will be decided this year, while 2016 game, which marks the 50th anniversary, will most likely go to Los Angeles. 2018 could see London’s hosting of soccer’s biggest event, the World Cup. In 2012, London will host the Summer Olympics.
If London does end up hosting the Super Bowl, it will be the first time in the history of the NFL that a foreign country will host the game. The decision to allow international countries to host the Super Bowl is apart of the NFL’s plans to internationalize American football in a similar way that soccer has become.
The city of London is expected to make $600 million from the deal.
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