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April 2, 2007

It's official: China Bowl is off

Confirming earlier reports, the NFL announced today that the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will not meet in Beijing for an exhibition game before the 2007 season. The so-called American Bowl game had been set for Aug. 9. The NFL says it now plans on waiting until 2009 to hold a game in China.

Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International, says the decision to hold a game in China was announced before league ownership decided to hold a regular season game in London between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. Waller said that in order to focus resources on the game in London, which will take place Oct. 28, the NFL decided to pull the plug on the Beijing preseason game.

“Our assessment is that Chinese fans would be better served if our game in China is played at a later date after we have launched our international series of regular-season games and more effectively paved the way for the introduction of our game into China,” Waller said. “As a new sport in China, it is critical that we create the best platform for the introduction of the game. We are delighted Beijing authorities have agreed with our assessment and have invited us to play in Beijing in 2009.”

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:56 AM | Permalink