NFL CONFIRMS FATE OF LONDON 2020 INTERNATIONAL SERIES FIXTURES

The NFL has cancelled the International Series scheduled to take place in London and Mexico City later this year. All four games in London 2020 would have been shared between Wembley and Tottenham there should have been two fixtures involving the Jacksonville Jaguars which would have been scheduled for Wembley, with two more matches due to be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The London games were set for autumn 2020, but no firm dates had been set. It will be the first time an NFL regular season game has not been played in London since 2006. They will now be held in the US after organisers decided it was impossible to arrange games in a different continent because of the coronavirus pandemic.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the decision after consultation with a number of stakeholders including clubs, local governments and medical authorities. The NFL had also been planning to play one game at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico, but that too will now take place in the USA.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "While the NFL's many fans in London, the UK and Europe will obviously be disappointed by this news, it is absolutely the right decision to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the sport. I know that the NFL remains fully committed to London and I look forward to welcoming NFL teams back to the capital in 2021." while Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said they "fully appreciate the difficult decision that the NFL has had to make".

Mark Burrows, The FA's Chief Operating Officer, said: "Wembley Stadium has had the privilege of hosting NFL games for the past 13 consecutive seasons, and they are undoubtedly one of the highlights of the stadium's calendar. We were of course looking forward to welcoming teams back to Wembley this autumn - in particular, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were due to be the first NFL team to play back-to-back international games here in London. However, we understand the challenges that sports across the world are facing as a result of this crisis and, as a valued partner, we fully support the NFL in their decision to schedule all games in the US this year. We wish them every success for the new season and stand ready to welcome the NFL back to our iconic venue in the near future."

This news is hardly unexpected given no-one knows when top-level sport will be played in the United Kingdom - and when it is, it will almost certainly be behind closed doors for the remainder of 2020 at least. However, it is another financial blow to both Tottenham and the Football Association, given the games have proved themselves to be useful money-spinners over the years.