MrAndMrsFish Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 FRANKFURT, Germany -- The NFL folded its development league in Europe after 16 years on Friday, calling the decision a sound business move that will allow for a stronger international focus on regular-season games outside the United States. The announcement came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl title game in Frankfurt before a crowd of 48,125. Five of the league's six teams are based in Germany, with the other in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A statement on the German-language edition of the NFL's Web site said the NFL decided to concentrate its "strategies and resources" on regular-season games outside the United States in an effort to reach as many people as possible. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell thanked the fans for their support but said it was time to develop a new international strategy, terming the move to fold NFL Europa the ``best business decision.'' The league reportedly was losing about $30 million a season. "From now on we will focus on regular-season games and use new technologies to make NFL more popular worldwide," he said. NFL team owners decided in October to play up to two regular-season games outside the United States. The first such game is Oct. 28 in London between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants. The league said it is looking toward other regular-season games in Germany, Mexico and Canada, with Germany a strong candidate for 2008. "NFL Europa has created thousands of passionate fans who have supported that league and our sport for many years," said Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International. "And we look forward to building on this foundation as we begin this new phase of our international development." The league began in 1991 as the World League of American Football, with 10 teams from the United States and Europe, spreading from Scotland to Spain. After closing for two seasons in 1993 and 1994, the league returned with six European teams and retained the same format until the end. The league was used by NFL teams to test young talent and produced players such as quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the St. Louis Rams to the 2000 Super Bowl championship and won two NFL Most Valuable Player awards; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme; and star Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri. NFL Europa managing director Uwe Bergheim said the league had succeeded in establishing a fan base for football in important European markets. "Despite the great support of fans, business partners and the cities where we were active, we decided that it was time to change the strategy," Bergheim said. LINK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 It's a shame that players on the fringe of making teams will probably turn to the Arena league instead of straight football. Although I guess Cuban's lame attempt to start a new league could provide a new opportunity for these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsMania Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 It's a shame that players on the fringe of making teams will probably turn to the Arena league instead of straight football. Although I guess Cuban's lame attempt to start a new league could provide a new opportunity for these guys. I also read the NFL is going to consider making a minor league system that will play games on tuesdays or wednesday during the season. That way players can just be called up. However they want to wait for the cuban league to fold, so that they dont have to compete for players. BTW I am sure Germany will get a game every year. This is probably the last season were we see just one game abroad, I think it will be two from here on out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 That's too bad, but I'm hopeful about some sort of minor league system with teams in smaller cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarlinFan10 Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Having regular season games abroad is idiotic considering there's only 8 home games for teams here and plenty of people who want to go to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsMania Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Having regular season games abroad is idiotic considering there's only 8 home games for teams here and plenty of people who want to go to them. yes it would suck to lose a home game. But they way they are doing, teams would only lose a home game once every 16 years. They were also talking about adding a 17th week (labor day weekend) and having all of the teams play abroad that week. I dont think you could find 16 cities that would sell that stadium out. Munich, Berlin, London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney could all probably hold games regularly. I dont know where else could fill up a stadium year in and year out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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