Rams May Play 49ers in First China NFL Regular Season Game in 2018
The Los Angeles Rams may play the San Francisco 49ers in a regular season National Football League (NFL) game in China in 2018, trade publication Sports Business Daily reported Tuesday, citing sources.
It would be a dream come true for fans of American football in China, who, aside from having to watch their favorite sport in the wee hours of Monday mornings during the NFL season, were disappointed in 2007, when an exhibition game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks slated for August 8 in Beijing was "postponed," but never rescheduled.
The NFL's Vice President for Communications Brian McCarthy told Sports Business Daily that "nothing is definitive" regarding the game at this point. The league named the Rams as the likely home team in March, when it first indicated it wanted to hold a regular season game in China.
While Beijing's National Stadium seems like the best candidate for such an event, the NFL's offices in China are in Shanghai, so where the game would take place is still uncertain.
The NFL has been active in promoting "American olive ball" in China through organized league games, notably NFL China's University Bowl flag football league and championship, and regular visits by top former NFL stars, including Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Kordell Stewart, and most recently, Pittsburgh Steelers Troy Polomalu, Ike Taylor, and Ryan Clark.
Just last week, a group led by two former NFL players announced the launch of an arena football league in China, a version of American football played in indoor venues. The six-team league will have its own Beijing franchise, the Beijing Lions, who will play the Shanghai Skywalkers on Oct 2.
Although the league is now holding three regular season games per year in London, and staged 13 games in Tokyo between 1989 and 2005, the NFL has never staged even an exhibition game in China.
The logistics are significant. Playing an exhibition game is actually more difficult than a regular season game in at least one respect – teams are carrying 70-plus player rosters, rather than the 53 that make up a regular season squad. With a 13-hour time difference between China and the US east coast, and 12 hours during daylight savings time, scheduling for television broadcasts amenable to a US television audience will also be challenging.
Other major international sports teams and leagues regularly visit China to promote both their games and their brands. The National Basketball Association (NBA) visits China each year with the NBA China Games, and top English Premier League teams including Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur have all played against Beijing Guo'an in friendlies, as have Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid.
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Photo: NFL.com
