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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has revealed that holding a Super Bowl outside the United States could become a possibility.
Goodell has previously rebuffed the idea of holding the annual championship game abroad.
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But he admitted last week that it could happen eventually.
Speaking at a fan forum in London, he explained: “We’ve always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city — that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises.
“But things change. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that happens one day.”
Goodell also named three potential new international locations that could host NFL games.
Discussing his ambition to make the sport global, the 65-year-old said: “It’s a variety of issues, we look at everything.
“The stadiums are important, but do we have a strong fan base there?
“What’s our media coverage? What are the other facilities like hotels and travel?
“Our goal is to be a global sport.
“We want our game played on a global basis and we want to bring our game to a global audience.
“We’re looking at markets we’d like to be in.
“I have no doubt we will be playing in Ireland. I don’t know if it’ll be next year but it’s coming soon. I know the Steelers really want to go there.
“We’re looking at other markets in the other direction, toward Asia.
“There’s probably more interest than we can handle.”
Goodell’s ultimate goal is to increase the annual amount of international games to 16 – only if the regular season expands to 18 games.
That plan could include a second bye week in the schedule.
