The National Football League (NFL) will stage competitive games in the United Kingdom in each of the next three years, beginning with the New Orleans Saints hosting the San Diego Chargers at London’s Wembley Stadium on October 26.

After a successful regular-season debut in the United Kingdom last October, when a sell-out crowd of 81,176 saw the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins at Wembley, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced a multi-year commitment to play a limited number of NFL games in the UK on an annual basis.

“Playing a limited number of regular-season games internationally will help build and grow an already passionate international fan base,” said Commissioner Goodell, speaking in Phoenix, Arizona, ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and the New England Patriots.

Alex Horne, Managing Director of Wembley Stadium said: “This is fantastic news for Wembley Stadium. We are keen to build on the huge success of our first NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants at Wembley last October. The scale and flexibility of Wembley Stadium lends itself extremely well to NFL and everyone at Wembley is delighted that the NFL has decided to return to our stadium.

“We look forward to welcoming back the NFL team and working alongside them again to put on a fantastic spectacle for all fans of The NFL – both in the UK and around the world as well as welcoming the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers and their fans to London for their first international game at Wembley Stadium."