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NFL could stage a regular season game in China as it seeks inroads to a new frontier

Report on the NFL website says the league is looking at the possibility of taking the sport to the world’s most populous nation with a game held in 2018

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Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Ed Wang has visited Beijing as part of an NFL football clinic aimed at increasing interest in the sport in China. Photo: AP
Agence France-Presse

The National Football League is studying the possibility of expanding its international series to a new frontier by staging a regular season game in China, reports said Monday.

If we do get to a point where the NFL plays a game in China, the logistics are going to be interesting
Steve Tisch, New York Giants co-owner

A report on the NFL’s official website said the league was looking at the possibility of taking the sport to the world’s most populous nation with a game held in 2018.

A possible game in Germany was also being considered.

China has been on the NFL’s radar before, with tentative plans to host a game in 2007 and 2009. Those proposals never came to fruition, however.

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“It’s fascinating to think about,” New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch said on Monday at the NFL team owners meeting in Florida. “It’s very exciting, very exotic to think about. But if we do get to a point where the NFL plays a game in China, the logistics are going to be interesting.”

The prospect of a game in China comes as American football chiefs seek to broaden the international fan base of the sport.

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