NFL working to build bridge to Europe

0 Comments | USA TODAY, October, 2007 | by Jeffrey Stinson

LONDON -- Are the Brits ready for some football -- big-league, American football?

The NFL seeks to answer that Sunday when the Miami Dolphins play the New York Giants in London's sold-out Wembley Stadium, which bills itself as the "home of English football."

This is the first time the NFL has offered a regular-season game outside of the Americas. It's a tryout of a long-term strategy to market the high-flying and hard-hitting U.S. sport overseas, where "football" means soccer and fans are ecstatic over scores of 1-nil or ties.

If Sunday is a success, says Mark Waller, the NFL's senior vice president for marketing and sales, up to two regular-season games could be played next year outside the USA, in Britain, Germany, Mexico or Canada.

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