At the NFL Fall League Meeting in Boston earlier this week, Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed a number of issues during a Tuesday news conference. In addition to a reference to the International Series game in London that will be played on Oct. 25 between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Goodell also touched on a few other international angles pertaining to the NFL.
The following are Goodell's answers to some questions concerning the NFL's international plan:
Are you looking forward to going to England in a few weeks?
GOODELL: I am looking forward to it. There is a lot of excitement. Our fans in the U.K. are excited about the matchup. And I am always thrilled to be over in London.
On outreach to Africa:
GOODELL: I was at the Kansas City Chiefs game this past Sunday and Christian Okoye and I have had ongoing dialogue about his interest in bringing an NFL game over to Nigeria. It's something that holds some interest to us. Not only because a number of players come from that area, but more importantly because there is a lot of interest in our game over there. So it is something that we've had dialogue about and we'll continue to have dialogue about.
Will there be more invested in marketing and developing the game in Africa?
GOODELL: Christian and I talked about it. Whenever we go into an international market, there is an education part of this which is exposing the game to fans that may not have had the opportunity to see it. So, media is a big part of that. Other marketing elements are a big part of that. And certainly a game has to be done in cooperation and done in a way that maximizes the impact of that kind of thing.
On international plans and NFL's vision:
GOODELL: We think we have a great game that has a tremendous interest. We're not played as broadly as some other sports, particularly soccer and basketball. But when people have the opportunity to see our game and to be engaged with our game, they love it and they want more of it. That's what we've had every time we've expanded our game beyond its current borders. We want to play to that. We want to bring football to more fans. Changes in new media have made it easier for us to control that and to bring that to more fans. Technology has benefited consumers, and most specifically potential fans for us, and also our efforts internationally.
Are you going to try to reach out to international communities via media?
GOODELL: Absolutely. The last figure I saw is that more than 240 countries and territories are broadcasting the NFL in some fashion -- some in games, some in highlight version. That's a great potential for us.
