The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Chicago Bears at Wembley Stadium in October if the NFL season goes ahead.
The league announced on Monday night that the Bucs will return to London for the second time in three years, having lost to the New England Patriots at Wembley in 2009, providing the current labour dispute is settled.
For the Bears, the game on October 23 will mark the 25th anniversary of having played a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at the stadium.
It is the fifth year in a row that the NFL will stage a regular-season game in London.
The league and its locked-out players have yet to reach a deal on a new labour agreement, meaning the 2011 season is in jeopardy. And if they don’t get a new deal in place by August 1, the game will instead be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
However, talks between the two sides are on-going and those at the NFLUK headquarters in London were said to be 'quietly optimistic' that a deal will soon be done and the season will go ahead as planned.
The full 2011 NFL schedule will be announced at midnight on Tuesday (April 19). If past history is an indicator, the Bears and Bucs will likely have bye weeks scheduled for October 30, Week 8 of the season.
‘Our past four games in London have demonstrated the tremendous passion for NFL football that exists in the UK,’ said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
‘We hope by staging another extraordinary game at Wembley that we can continue to grow our existing fan base and attract even more new fans.’
The Buccaneers finished last season with a 10-6 record, led by one of the league’s most dynamic young rosters with seemingly unlimited potential. Head coach Raheem Morris was named as Coach of the Year by fans voting in the NFLUK Awards.
The Buccaneers previously capped the 2002 season with a win in Super Bowl XXXVII, while the Tampa Bay region has also played host to four Super Bowls.
‘We are honoured to be selected to participate in the NFL International Series for a second time,’ said Buccaneers co-chairman Bryan Glazer.
‘We are looking forward to promoting Tampa Bay’s emerging young team on the world stage. We have the longest-running fan club of any NFL team in the UK and look forward to seeing so many familiar faces from the Bucs UK fan club at the game.’
The Bears reached the NFC Championship Game last season before losing to NFC North rivals and eventual Super Bowl winners Green Bay.
One of the league’s most historic franchises, the nine-time NFL champions helped introduce the sport to a UK audience in the mid-1980s.
As the reigning Super Bowl XX champions, the Bears played a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at Wembley on August 3, 1986, the first of the American Bowl series of games designed to introduce American football to fans around the world.
‘To return to London to play an NFL game – this is going to be fun,’ said Chicago Bears chairman Michael McCaskey.
‘I remember how enthusiastic the fans were in 1986 when we played in Wembley Stadium and defeated the Dallas Cowboys.
‘London fans were so welcoming and blended their traditions of singing soccer songs with the NFL-style of presenting games. Of course the Chicago Bears are very pleased to have been named the 'Team of the Year' by UK fans following the 2010 season. So we are looking forward to facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in October and playing in person before our terrific fans in the UK and Europe.’
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘Continuing London's love affair with the hugely popular stateside sport, we are proud to once again welcome two of America’s top NFL teams to the capital.
'With a growing local fanbase it is a fantastic opportunity for enthusiasts from London and beyond to experience the unique thrill of a live game in one of the most iconic sports venues around, Wembley Stadium.’
Live coverage in the UK will air on Sky Sports and BBC Radio, with highlights on BBC TV.
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