Sport American football

NFL still undecided on bringing games to China

Written by Ben Blaschke

The NFL will play the first of four games overseas this weekend when the Indianapolis Colts face the Jacksonville Jaguars in England, but the organization’s ultimate dream of taking a game to China looks as far away as ever.

Despite having constantly explored opportunities over the past 10 years – when a pre-season game between the Patriots and Seahawks was first planned then cancelled – the NFL has now admitted that its latest plan to play a regular season game in Beijing in early 2018 also looks unlikely to go ahead.

While the sport is desperate to tap the huge Chinese market, a number of logistical problems continue to hold it back. Most obvious is time, with the shortest flight from the USA taking 13 hours and a time difference of 15 hours, leaving little time for preparation and recovery in an already physically demanding code.

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As NFL Executive Vice-President Mark Waller note this week, “When do the teams get back? How do you schedule them? Does it affect the teams coming back?

“If we want to do this in China, it has to be a good time for Chinese fans but also so that US fans can watch. And we want to make sure we can keep growing it.”

For now, team owners have proved to be a major stumbling block given concerns over how such a trip could impact their entire season. But just as the NBA enjoyed huge success among Chinese fans, the financial upside is also difficult to ignore.

Let’s hope the NFL puts a real China plan in place soon.