Exec outlines UK expansion plans for NFL

By John Mehaffey

LONDON (Reuters) - British fans of American football may one day be able to buy a season ticket for four NFL games in as many different venues across the United Kingdom if ambitious expansion plans come to fruition.

Last October the NFL staged its first regular-season game outside the United States, a rain-drenched encounter between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins before a capacity crowd of around 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium.

The Giants slipped and slid to a 13-10 win which convinced NFL executives the experiment had been a success.

"The numbers were extraordinarily positive. We made the subsequent decision not just to return for this year but to return for the next three years," NFL international operations manager Mark Waller said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

"As you know we sold out the stadium. We could probably realistically sell out Wembley four or five times.

"The goal was to drive awareness to turn that into regular and frequent engagement and we've definitely been successful.

"We got exceptionally good feedback on everything but the U.K. weather.

"This is me speaking at the moment but I can see no reason why one day you wouldn't be able to buy, say, a game season ticket for four games that come into the U.K., say once a month.