The NFL announced Tuesday that the Arizona Cardinals will play their first ever regular season game in London, England during the 2017 season.
The game against the Los Angeles Rams is scheduled to take place Oct. 22 or 29.
The Rams agreed to give up a home game for the London matchup, meaning the Cardinals will technically be the away team and will still play a full eight games at University of Phoenix Stadium next season.
Next year, we'll be crossing the pond to play in London!
More info ? https://t.co/qNOwWex9Nc pic.twitter.com/NXA8yDUnPt
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 13, 2016
The game will be played at Twickenham Stadium, which is primarily a rugby arena, but has hosted NFL games in the past.
“In 2014, I attended the Raiders-Dolphins game at Wembley Stadium and experienced first-hand the incredible enthusiasm U.K. fans have for the NFL. I also encountered a huge number of Cardinals fans asking when our team would be playing there," Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said.
"I know this is great news for them as well as the U.S. members of the Red Sea who couldn’t have a cooler destination to see a road game. We’re looking forward to seeing them all there next fall.”
While this is their first regular season game in London, the Cardinals played a preseason game there in 1983 against the Minnesota Vikings. It was the NFL’s first ever game in England.
Only other time Cards played in London: 8/6/83 preseason gm vs Vikings (25 days before @LarryFitzgerald was born); 1st NFL game played in UK pic.twitter.com/fjpWPaSypi
— Mark Dalton (@CardsMarkD) December 13, 2016
During the 2017 season the NFL is expanding to four games in London, after playing three games a year there since 2014.
“We continue to be incredibly excited by the passion and love for the NFL shown by our millions of UK fans,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “London is an amazing city. We have had tremendous support from our fans, from Mayor Khan and other government leaders and business partners, and we are looking forward to taking the next step in the UK by playing four games in London next season.”
