NFL names three German cities bidding to become host of regular-season games

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The NFL has narrowed its options to three cities to become the host of regular-season games in Germany.

The league said in June it wanted to add a German game to its international series, with seven cities believed to register expressions of interest.

Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich have been invited to the candidate phase.

"Regular-season games are a key part of continuing the development of our German fanbase," said Brett Gosper, the NFL's head of UK and Europe.

This Sunday's game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be the 30th regular-season fixture staged in London since 2007, while Mexico City has hosted three games since 2016.

The UK and Mexico are set to remain on the NFL schedule and if Germany is added it would see NFL games played in mainland Europe for the first time, possibly as early as 2022.

"We want this to be a long-term partnership," Gosper added. "The strong interest we have received from German cities underlines what a fantastic opportunity this is.

"As well as identifying a stadium that is fully capable of handling the logistics of an NFL game, we want to work with a host consortium that comprises local and regional government, stadium ownership, local stakeholders and potential commercial partners."

This year the NFL expanded the regular season to 17 games and a new international scheduling formula was agreed, with at least four games to be played internationally every season from 2022, and each NFL team hosting an international game once every eight seasons.

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