NFL Commissioner Sees Teams in Canada, England in 1990s

The NFL could have teams in Canada and England during the 1990s but any further international expansion is not likely soon, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said today.

The popularity of football in Canada and the growing interest in the sport in England make those countries solid candidates for NFL teams, Tagliabue said.

The commissioner, speaking at a luncheon meeting with several reporters covering this weekend’s Rams-Chiefs pre-season game in Berlin, said international expansion is possible before 2000.

“If you include Canada, I think it is obviously realistic in this decade,” he said. “If you include London, I think it’s clearly realistic.

“Other than Canada and Britain, the prospect of having NFL teams in foreign countries is pretty far down the road. That will be another commissioner making that decision.”

Tagliabue said in late July that expansion of the 28-club NFL by two teams is “a realistic objective” by 1993. Montreal has been mentioned as a candidate for a new team, as well as cities including Jacksonville, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C.